Lottery betting operators are mounting a legal challenge of the UK government’s plan to bar them from offering markets on non-UK EuroMillions lottery draws.

Last November, the UK government announced the results of a consultation that convinced the government to “introduce a new license condition to prohibit consumers in Great Britain from placing bets on EuroMillions games which take place outside the UK.”

The new license condition, which is set to take effect on April 6, was immediately decried by UK-licensed lottery betting operators such as Lottoland. The Lotto Betting Group (LBG), an umbrella group encompassing Lottoland and rivals World Lottery Club, Jackpot.com and Multilotto, has now indicated its willingness to challenge the “irrational” and “unreasonable” proposal in court.

The LBG has submitted a “letter before claim” for a judicial review of the license condition to Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) secretary Matt Hancock. The LBG maintains that the new condition violates the trade laws of the European Union, of which the UK is (for the moment) still a member.