The Health Lottery assets of the NHS Lottery were purchased in 2007 by Altala Group Ltd, a company run by Ian Milligan, a former employee of Camelot Group, the operators of the UK National Lottery. Altala went into administration in 2009, shortly before it was due to be granted its gambling licence, and was purchased by Health Lottery Ltd. After winning the licence, the Health Lottery was sold in February 2011 to Richard Desmond's Northern & Shell group. The Health Lottery launched in September 2011. Until the summer of 2018, The Health Lottery had operated 51 society lotteries across Great Britain. This structure
The Health Lottery causes, compared with 28% donated by the National Lottery. Spokespersons for The Health Lottery argue that the game will grow the market. Some attention was also given to the possibility that favourable coverage of the lottery in Desmond's "Daily Express" and the "Daily Star" amounted to disguised advertising, which was reported to the Advertising Standards Authority, who found the issue to be outside their remit. The Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt announced in October 2011 that the Gambling Commission would investigate the legality of the Health Lottery, after questions were raised about the way the lottery was being run and the