Richard Desmond legal action over National Lottery award to begin at high court

Billionaire suing Gambling Commission for up to 1.3bn over licence award, with payout potentially funded by the taxpayer

The media billionaire Richard Desmond will begin a bitter courtroom battle with the Gambling Commission this week that could cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of pounds in a row over the licence to run the National Lottery.

Northern & Shell and The New Lottery Company (TNLC), owned by Desmond, are suing the gambling regulator for up to 1.3bn, alleging manifest errors" in the labyrinthine competition process for Britain's largest public sector contract, the lottery licence.