Catalogue description Records of the Office of the National Lottery and successors

The National Lottery was set up by the National Lottery Act 1993, and a Director General was appointed by the Secretary of State for National Heritage to oversee its administration. The Director General is required to license bodies to run the National Lottery and to promote lotteries as part of the National Lottery and is also able to revoke licences if he or she feels it to be necessary. In addition the Director General approves the conditions specified in a licence and is able to vary any of them after a licence has been granted. Responsibility for regulations concerning the sale of tickets rests with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the successor to the Department of National Heritage. The Director General is provided with administrative support by an Office set up for this purpose.

The National Lottery Commission was established in April 1999 under the National Lottery Act 1998, to replace the Office of the National Lottery (OFLOT). The Commission grants and enforces licences to run the National Lottery. Previously an independent non-departmental public body, it became part of the Gambling Commission on 1 October 2013.