Allwyn Finally Takes the Reins – UK’s Fourth National Lottery License Comes into Effect
On February 1st, the Fourth National Lottery license came into effect, swapping operators (for the first time since it became a national game) from Camelot to Allwyn. Camelot successfully grew and operated the UK’s National Lottery from 1994 to 2024 but lost its fourth licensing bid to Allwyn on a points-based system.
The New Incentive Mechanism
Since the lottery’s inception, sales have raised over £48 billion for more than 685,000 Good Causes across the UK. It creates over £30 million weekly for arts, sports, heritage, and community products, forming a vital stream of UK social funding.
One of the most significant changes coming into effect, but that players won’t notice is the new incentive mechanism set to increase funding to good causes. This links operator profits to good causes, meaning Allwyn will only see its profits increase if the returns to good causes go up. Additionally, all National Lottery products will contribute to good causes at the same level.
Product Changes – SG Milestones
“Our ambition is to offer more games, attract more players, inject more entertainment, create more winners, and raise even more money for National Lottery-funded projects. Powering that ambition is a significant investment in our technology and operations as we modernise to secure The National Lottery’s future sustainability.”
Andria Vidler, CEO for Allwyn UK.
Allwyn has partnered with lottery powerhouse Scientific Games to grow the UK’s lottery product base. This shrewd move is set to revolutionise the UK’s lottery offerings through planned milestones that will assist Allwyn in growing the product sustainably.
While we don’t yet have all the details, here’s what we know. SG will be the exclusive scratchcard provider to the National Lottery for the license period. To facilitate the product creation and distribution, SG has opened a high-tech, 92,000-square-foot state-of-the-art scratchcard logistics facility in Warrington. The facility features the company’s ScoTrak technology, which includes predictive ordering and sorting systems that drive supply-chain efficiency. It also brings jobs to the local economy.
SG will gradually migrate the National Lottery technology to its SYMPHONY enterprise gaming system. Lastly, SG will provide UK players a new digital platform with instant-win games from SG and its partner studios.
Michael Conforti, President of International and Strategic Accounts for Scientific Games, commented;
“We commend Allwyn on its vision for growing The National Lottery and substantially increasing returns to National Lottery-funded projects as a result…With more technology and products being deployed over the course of the license, this will be a very exciting time for The National Lottery, its retailers, players, and beneficiaries.”
Darren Henley, CEO of Arts Council England and Chair of The National Lottery Forum, representing all twelve National Lottery good cause distributors across the UK, added: “The National Lottery makes a massive positive impact on people’s lives in villages, towns, and cities across the UK, helping communities and organisations to thrive.
“We’re excited by Allwyn’s vision to grow The National Lottery and to increase the funds it generates for these important projects. National Lottery players make a real difference to the fabric of our society every day. And Allwyn’s plans for a modernised National Lottery will help fund so many good causes in the long term, supporting us as we make the magic of The National Lottery even greater than before.”
Scientific Games – The Lottery Provider To Get the Job Done
SG is one of the biggest providers of lottery products globally, active in 50+ countries, so it’s an excellent fit for UK players and Allwyn. Its award-winning lottery tech and products have led the iGaming industry since 1973, so the company is not short on experience.
Moreover, it is well known for innovation, and it is the choice of lottery provider for the governments of New Zealand, Latvia, Panama, Turkey, the Netherlands, Bulgaria, and Norway, to name but a few.
