Allywn Entertainment owner Karol Komarek has publicly condemned the invasion of Ukraine but still jointly owns a gas storage facility in the Czech Republic with the Russian energy giant Gazprom. (Image: CTK\/Alamy)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThe company, which won the tender for the UK National Lottery last month, is a subsidiary of the European lottery giant Sazka. That is owned by the Czech oil and gas tycoon Karel Komarek.<\/p>\n
While Komarek has publicly condemned Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine, questions have been asked in the British parliament about his business ties to Russia.<\/strong><\/p>\nIn 2016, Kormarek\u2019s company, MND, built an underground gas storage facility in the Czech Republic in a 50-50 partnership with the state-owned Russian energy giant Gazprom.<\/p>\n
In late March, Labour shadow minister for Tech, Gambling, and the Digital Economy, MP Alex Davies-Jones, demanded clarity over the new lottery operator\u2019s relationship with Gazprom.<\/p>\n
Lottery Payout<\/strong><\/h2>\nThe National Lottery is one of the UK\u2019s biggest public sector contracts, and analysts believe it could be worth \u00a380 billion ($104 billion) over the next decade. Kormarek is expected to raise hundreds of millions more by floating Allwyn on the New York Stock Exchange through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).<\/p>\n
But in an investor presentation seen by the PA Media, Allwyn admits that \u201cThe conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and related sanctions, could negatively impact us.\u201d<\/p>\n
A spokesperson downplayed the significance of this risk in a statement to the PA this week.<\/p>\n
The potential impact of sanctions is a standard risk factor that virtually every US-listed company with international operations is making in light of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia,”<\/strong> the spokesperson said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\u201cAs is self-evident to any fair-minded person who reads it, the inclusion of sanctions as a risk factor in our New York Stock Exchange listing presentation is a reflection of the current global climate, akin to the possible impacts of Covid-19, not an indication of a specific threat to Allwyn,\u201d they added.<\/p>\n