that the allocated funds went to the right place, in the right amounts. It was not the NLC’s responsibility to distribute the good causes funds. There are 14 Lottery distributors who distribute the money to local communities and national projects. Licensing competition The National Lottery is operated by Camelot Group under a licence that was awarded to them by the Commission following a competition to select the operator. The competition for the third Lottery licence took place between January 2005 and August 2007. The Invitation to Apply (ITA) was the formal invitation to bid for the licence and was published on 29 June 2006. Bids were received from Camelot Group plc and Sugal & Damani UK Ltd. Following an evaluation period, on 7 August 2007 the NLC announced that Camelot Group plc was the preferred bidder to become the operator of the next National Lottery Licence. Camelot’s bid was selected as the bid most likely to generate the best returns to good causes over the course of the licence. The licence came into force on 1 February 2009, to run until 2019, with the option of up to five years' extension. References External links Funding distributors Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport 1999 establishments in the United Kingdom 2013 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Government agencies established in 1999 Lotteries in the United Kingdom