Richard Desmond scores victory in battle over National Lottery legal costs

Richard Desmond has secured a victory in his National Lottery legal battle after a High Court judge rejected a demand for him to stump up £15m to cover costs.
The Gambling Commission last month attempted to force Mr Desmond to pay a bond to cover its legal costs should his claim against the regulator fail.
The Commission demanded that the media mogul either paid the sum into the High Court's bank account or put up his property interests as collateral.
But in a ruling on Monday, Mrs Justice Smith dismissed the claims. Legal costs will now be determined at a pre-trial review listed for next month.
The judgment marks a victory for Mr Desmond in an increasingly bitter row with the Gambling Commission over the National Lottery.
The 73-year-old is suing the regulator over its failure to award him the fourth National Lottery licence. The 10-year contract was instead handed to Allwyn, which is owned by Czech billionaire Karel Komarek.
Mr Desmond claims the bidding process was unfair and is seeking £1.3bn in damages. Allwyn is an interested party in the dispute.
The Gambling Commission's failed claim, known formally as a 'security for costs order', would have required Mr Desmond to provide financial security to cover its legal costs. These orders are sought when there are concerns the claimant may not be able to afford the legal bill.
Lawyers for Allwyn have said Mr Desmond, the former owner of the Daily Express, Channel 5 and adult magazines, would face legal costs of at least £55m if he loses. The latest accounts for Mr Desmond's holding company Northern & Shell show it had cash of £20.8m in 2023.
However, sources close to Northern & Shell have refuted claims it could not afford the costs and insisted it has more than £300m of 'realisable assets'.
Should Mr Desmond's lawsuit be successful, the taxpayer will likely be forced to foot the bill. Ministers have previously said the dispute would either be settled with Treasury funds or from the money the National Lottery sets aside for good causes.
The Commission offered £10m of taxpayers' money to settle the case late last year but Mr Desmond rejected the proposal and will pursue a showdown in the High Court this autumn.
The mogul has also filed a separate £70m claim against the Gambling Commission, which argues that funds handed to previous National Lottery operator Camelot constitute a 'subsidy' and should be recovered from Allwyn, which took over Camelot.
Tech troubles
The legal tussles are piling pressure on the Gambling Commission amid broader concerns about Allwyn's performance overseeing the new licence.
The company is still struggling to carry out a complex IT upgrade that was supposed to be in place when it took over the licence in February last year. It is now preparing to carry out the update during a 36-hour shutdown of National Lottery terminals later this summer.
Allwyn has said the tech upgrade is crucial to its ambitious pledge to increase charitable donations from £17.9bn to £38bn over the course of the 10-year licence.
Bosses have since watered down this promise, sparking concerns the company will fall short in its returns to good causes.
The Gambling Commission has ramped up its scrutiny of Allwyn, prompting claims of 'micro-management' by the regulator as The Telegraph reported over the weekend.
An Allwyn spokesman said: 'The clear evidence before the court was that the litigants are not able to pay legal costs should they lose.
'We would like to see a public and unequivocal confirmation that representations made by the litigants to the court confirming the readiness of the wider Northern & Shell group to pay those costs will be honoured and there can be no possibility that good causes are harmed by their failure to pay.'

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