Blondel Cluff, held the role of a chair of the National Lottery Community Fund for two years until her early resignation dating back to last summer. As a result, Paul Sweeney was appointed to the role of interim chair on August 1, 2023, for a 1-year contract or until a permanent chair is appointed, whichever is sooner.

Now, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) initiated the search for a new National Lottery Community Fund chair earlier this week. Details regarding the job position were released publicly by the DCMS. January 10 marked the opening date for applications with the deadline for submission of applications set for February 7, 2024, at 11:59 PM. The first interviews are expected to start on April 17, 2024, but the DCMS confirmed that the aforementioned timelines may be subject to change.

The search for a permanent chair of the National Lottery Community Fund comes after recently it launched its new strategy, “It starts with community,” setting a number of objectives through 2030. Under the new strategy, the Fund anticipates distributing some £4 billion ($5.1 billion) of funding by 2030. This funding will provide vital support for different community projects. Throughout 2023, the Fund made nearly 14,000 grants, representing one grand for every 7 minutes.

The Vacant Role Represents an Incredible Opportunity

The new chair of the Fund is expected to have a deep understanding of the charity and community sectors. According to the criteria for the role, the successful candidate must have “a track record of strategic leadership in civil society, public service, or business,” along with pristine interpersonal and communication skills. Additionally, the preferred candidate for the chair role should demonstrate commitment to the Fund’s mission, among other relevant requirements.

“This is an incredible opportunity to Chair a high-profile UK public body that places social connections and community activities at the heart of creating healthier, happier lives and a flourishing society,“

reads the description of the role released by the DCMS

The remuneration listed for the Fund’s chair position is £40,000 annually in exchange for two working days per week. The term of the contract is listed as four years which is not uncommon considering that the former chair was appointed in February 2021 for a contract that was expected to run through February 2025.

Earlier this week, Brigid Simmonds, the chair of the Betting and Gaming Council, confirmed her plans to exit the organization. Simmonds confirmed she will step down effective from April 20, 2024. The vacant role will be filled by Michael Dugher, who will step in as the new chair of the BGC, effective from April 21, 2023.

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Earlier this month, Lottomatica, an Italian gaming giant, announced its plans to acquire 100% of SKS365’s share capital. The deal, which values the latter business at €639 million ($702 million) was signed recently and, if cleared by all relevant regulators, is set to close in the first half of 2024.

As a result of this major move, Lottomatia announced its plans to issue €500 million (approximately $549.1 million) in debt notes to fund the agreement. A first row of floating rate senior secured notes will be issued, followed by a second tranche of fixed rate senior secured notes. The latter notes will have a fixed rate of 7.125%. The move is also part of a €565 million 7.125% Senior Secured Notes due 2028 bond.

The division between the two bonds is yet to be announced and will likely be communicated once Lottomatica closes the deal or around the date of the completion.

In addition to that, Lottomatica has secured revolving credit cash borrowing of €50 million (roughly $55 million), under an existing revolving credit agreement.

The money Lottomatica secures through the notes and borrowings will allow it to fully fund the SKS365 purchase deal and cover all applicable fees and costs.

Lottomatica Is Looking Forward to Closing the Deal

Lottomatica will acquire SKS365 through its wholly-owned subsidiary CBO Spa. The successful deal comes in the wake of a failed takeover attempt by Playtech, which gave up on acquiring SKS365 recently. At the time, Flutter Entertainment was also rumored to be eyeing a takeover of SKS365’s business.

Guglielmo Angelozzi, Lottomatica’s chief executive officer, believes that the acquisition of SKS365 will provide CBO and Lottomatica with a major boost in Italy. As a company with over 1,000 shops and a significant online presence, SKS365 is an undeniably popular brand among local customers.

Angelozzi praised SKS365 as a top performer and lauded the efforts of its management team, which turned it into a local powerhouse.

Alexander Martin, SKS365’s CEO, also commented on the matter earlier, saying that his team is glad to join the Lottomatica family and believes that it could not have found a better acquisition partner.

For reference, SKS365 operates brands such as PlanetWin365 and PlanetPay365 in addition to running retail operations. Furthermore, the company has been decorated as one of Italy’s top employers for 2023.

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Premier online betting operator in the UK by number of customers that provides pre-match and in-play odds in a variety of markets, Sky Betting & Gaming (Sky Bet), has made a donation of over £250,000 ($313,500) to the Children’s Heart Surgery Fund (CHSF), one of Yorkshire’s top charities.

The announcement was made during SBG’s Annual Charity Gala held in Leeds earlier in the week when hundreds of staff members and guests reunited for a fund-raiser hosted by ITV Racing’s Oli Bell and Ed Chamberlin.

Flutter UK & Ireland Donated £120,000

While the silent auction, sponsorship packages, Mascot Race, and raffle prizes all contributed to raising an important amount throughout the night, Sky Bet’s parent company Flutter UK & Ireland (Flutter UKI) decided to add a further £120,000 to the list of donations. 

This way, the Leeds Congenital Heart Unit will afford to buy a new, top-tier echo software package that would allow them to use advanced software for highly detailed heart analysis.

At the head of the year, the staff at Sky Bet voted to support the CHSF. Ever since they have been involved in a series of fund-raising challenges and activities with the goal of raising money for the charity that does not receive any funds from the government.

In the past eight years since it has been running its charity event, Sky Bet has managed to raise approximately £800,000 ($872,000) that reached local and nationwide charities. The list includes Macmillan Cancer, the Yorkshire Air Ambulance, Support Dogs, and Teenage Cancer.

The company’s chief commercial officer, Steve Birch, called the Charity Gala one of their “proudest moments” while praising the work done by the staff to raise money for the cause that he called exceptional.

The Children’s Heart Surgery Fund (CHSF) is a not-for-profit organization that provides lifesaving and life-changing support for children with congenital heart disease across Yorkshire.

Sky Bet’s “Life-Changing” Contribution, Praised by CHSF

CHSF’s head of marketing, Andy McNally, spoke about the “life-changing contribution from Sky Betting & Gaming and Flutter UKI” that is expected to make a huge difference in terms of treatment for patients suffering from congenital heart diseases. 

He added that the fresh donations will support both patients and their families and provide them with the “best possible experience” at the Congenital Heart Unit as well as other 19 cardiac clinics in the area. 

McNally thanked the Sky Bet staff and everyone who helped organize the event. Each year, the CHSF takes in more than 17,000 patients of all ages. 

In August, Sky Betting and Gaming announced it would continue to promote safer gambling practices together with the English Football League.

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The UK’s DCMS announced that the Secretary of State Lucy Frazer has appointed Paul Sweeney as the interim chairman of The National Lottery Community Fund. The announcement described Sweeney as a seasoned individual with years of experience in the voluntary, community and public sectors in Northern Ireland.

The announcement added that Sweeney will serve in the role for 12 months starting August 1, 2023, or until a permanent substitute has been appointed. In his position, he will be remunerated at £40,000 a year (around $51,000).

The interim appointment, the announcement added, was made as an exceptional appointment without completion. The DCMS also added that Sweeney has not been involved in any political activity in the last five years.

Sweeney Has a Wealth of Experience in the Non-Profit Sector

Between 1987 and 1994, Sweeney served as the director of the Northern Ireland Voluntary Trust, a local community-oriented charity supporting self-help initiatives.

In 1994, the appointee joined the Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS). At first, he served as an adviser on community development and reconciliation. Eventually, Sweeney was promoted to a number of senior positions, including deputy secretary in the Office of the First and Deputy First Minister, permanent secretary in the Department for Culture, Arts and Leisure and permanent secretary in the Department of Education

In 2017, Sweeney departed from the NICS to pursue other opportunities. Since then, he has had short stints with several charity organizations, primarily focused on regeneration, culture and young people.

On June 1, 2021, Sweeney was named chair of The National Lottery Community Fund’s Northern Ireland Funding Committee.

Allwyn to Take Over the National Lottery in 2024

Sweeney’s appointment comes ahead of Allwyn’s takeover of the United Kingdom’s National Lottery. Last year, the UKGC appointed Allwyn as the next National Lottery operator – a fact that the incumbent operator, Camelot, was initially unamused with.

As a result, Camelot tried to block the licensing process, claiming that the UKGC had favored its competitor. The conflict lasted several months but in the end, Camelot conceded, allowing the commission to crown Allwyn as the next National Lottery operator. Allwyn is set to take over the National Lottery in February 2024.

Shortly after the conflict ended, Allwyn expressed its intention to acquire Camelot, which it did a few months later.

In May, the UK National Lottery recorded stable growth, attesting to its popularity. In the meantime, Allwyn picked Leo Burnett and VCCP as joint creative advertising agencies.

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Daily Mail and Daily Express reported that the UK Government is planning to introduce a new levy on gambling companies to fund treatment programs for those addicted to gambling, with the proceeds being directed toward the National Health Service (NHS). 

Proposed New Levy to Prevent Firms from Exploiting Loopholes in Gambling Contributions

The proposed new levy is designed to create a standardized payment to prevent firms from exploiting loopholes to avoid making sufficient contributions. The Gambling Commission will be responsible for launching a consultation to decide how the levy should be tailored to different firms’ profits and revenues. This move comes following a record GBP19.2 million ($23.6 million) fine that was recently imposed on William Hill by the industry watchdog for failing to prevent customers from accruing unpayable debts. 

The NHS will not accept voluntary donations from gambling firms because it considers them a conflict of interest. The UK Government is expected to publish a gambling white paper soon, the most comprehensive review of betting laws in over 15 years, with the aim of ensuring that current regulations are fit for the digital age. 

The government wants to allow people the freedom to gamble responsibly while preventing harmful and addictive gambling, and it believes that a new levy will be a vital tool in achieving this aim. The levy will create long-term, reliable funding for treatment services, as many researchers do not accept voluntary funding from the gambling industry due to concerns over the independence of the research. 

Betting and Gaming Council Defends Gambling Industry Amidst Proposed Levy

The proposed levy could face opposition from some quarters, however. Reports suggest that Rishi Sunak, the current UK Prime Minister and former Chancellor, was previously against the idea of a levy. The suggestion is that he saw it as a new “nanny state” tax on business, and was concerned that it would harm the racing industry, given the existence of the Catterick racecourse in his constituency. There are also questions about whether the National Lottery will have to make similar contributions. 

The Betting and Gaming Council, which represents gambling firms, has said that the majority of people who gamble do so safely and responsibly and that the rate of problem gambling is very low, at just 0.2% of adults. The industry has committed to investing GBP100 million ($123 million) to tackle gambling-related harm, as well as making donations of GBP110 million ($135.4 million).

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Tracey Stevenson, a Thetford, UK resident, was sentenced to four years in prison back in 2017 after she admitted stealing £1.7 million ($2.1 million) from her employer. The hefty sum reportedly was primarily used for gambling, as well as personal expenditures. Besides the money she stole, Stevenson had ironically secured two significant gambling wins, £220,000 ($177,800) and £1.6 million ($2 million).

But neither those wins nor the money she stole to fuel her gambling habit couldn’t help her turn her life around like prison did. In a recent interview for Metro, Stevenson shared her story and how she was able to turn her life around, after the millions won, lost, stolen and her four-year prison sentence.

Oftentimes, gambling is an entertainment activity, but some people see it as an escape from real life. Well, this is precisely Stevenson’s case. Throughout her life, she enjoyed gambling. Stevenson admitted that once she turned 18, she started playing bingo with her mother. While back then, Stevenson spent some £15 ($12) a week, that all changed once she found online gambling.

As with many people who suffer from at-risk or problem gambling, Stevenson started chasing losses. In 2011, she scored a six-figure win, or some $177,800, which helped her a bit, until she gambled it all away. During that time, Stevenson was going through a tough time in her life, given one of her friends passed away. She also had marital problems. Those issues accumulated and she admitted that she was losing a lot to gambling, given that the activity became for her an “escape from real life.”

From Stealing as an Accountant to Prison

Soon after, Stevenson reportedly started stealing from her employer. Initially, the sums weren’t that big and given that she knew her way around finance, she was able to get away with it, to some extent. In 2012, Stevenson won £1.6 million ($2 million) playing slots. She admitted that soon the money was once again gambled away. “I soon gambled it all away, though, because every time I lost, I honestly thought I could win the money back. When I didn’t, I kept on stealing,” explained Stevenson.

Several years had passed but the woman said that she had a hard time living with the stress and shame of what she had done. By that time, the stolen money had hit £1.7 million ($2.1 million). At some point, Stevenson faced a difficult choice – she thought to either take her life or admit to what she had done.

She first told her husband, who then explained the story to her employer. Soon after that, Stevenson faced jail time. Although she could’ve received eight to ten years, her sentence, in the end, was four years. In addition, she was ordered to pay nearly £800,000 ($647,000).

In prison, Stevenson became a peer-support worker, a job that involves supporting the new prisoners. Sadly, after her prison sentence, in order to recover the stolen money, she lost everything. Those events had a devastating impact on her marriage as well. Once out of prison, Stevenson worked for a charity before COVID hit. Currently, she helps women who were involved or at risk of being involved in the criminal justice system and admits that she is “at peace” with herself.

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