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British entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson has been trying to get his hands on the profitable UK National Lottery license won by owners Camelot in 1994, 2001 and again in 2007.

But this time he was nowhere to be seen, and the lottery has appointed new owners.

The Gambling Commission has announced Allwyn Entertainment Ltd as its preferred applicant for the lottery's next license, starting 2024.

The new UK National Lottery bid winner Allwyn is owned by Czech oil and gas tycoon Karel Komarek.

Current owner Camelot Group, which has run the National Lottery since it was launched in 1994, has been named as the ‘reserve applicant’ after four firms applied for the lucrative license.

The National Lottery is one of the world's largest lotteries and has raised more than £45 billion (US$58.7 billion) for 660,000 causes across the United Kingdom.

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Allwyn is a UK-based subsidiary of Europe's largest lottery operator Sazka, which is owned by Czech oil and gas tycoon Karel Komarek.

Komárek, born 15 March 1969, is a businessman worth $5.5 billion as of August 2021. He is one of the wealthiest Czech citizens and the founder-owner of the KKCG Group,

READ MORE: New owners appointed for National Lottery