National Lottery operator sees ‘inflection point’ despite drop in revenue

The operator of the National Lottery has revealed lower UK sales and earnings for the start of the year but said it saw an “inflection point” on the horizon its British arm.

Allwyn, the European gaming operator who took over the UK National lottery in 2024, booked revenue growth of around a fifth in the first three months of 2026 to €1.2m (£1m). Earnings before tax was up by a quarter to €443m.

But on the UK front the firm took a hit with earnings falling 56 per cent to €4m as gaming revenues dropped seven per cent to €942m.

This firm pointed to a high comparative base last year, which had a record EuroMillions jackpot, and short-term disruptions from upgrading digital platforms.

Despite the slowing figures within the UK, Allwyn remained confident in its strategy stating the latest results “mark an important inflection point in the financial profile of the business”.

Much of this optimism came from the completion of a £450m tech upgrade to the National Lottery during the first quarter of this year.

New Lotto format inbound

Allwyn highlighted the launch of a refreshed National Lottery website and mobile apps in addition to a successful transfer of 18m player accounts onto the new digital platforms.

Alongside this, the firm also announced the launch of the world’s largest jackpot game, Powerball, into the UK market, aiming to add an extra layer to the UK lottery market with the game offering more frequent jackpots and more chances for winners. Allwyn will also debut a new Lotto format on June 7 across UK operations, which will mark the biggest shakeup since its launch in 1994.

Lotto said that this new format will be “twice as exciting” with players benefiting from two chances to win the jackpot for every £2 ticket. In the United States, Allwyn have benefitted from their recent majority acquisition of Prizepicks, the fantasy sport operator.

Robert Chvatal, Allwyn chief executive, said: “We have high conviction in our future growth, cash generation and shareholder value creation, and have today launched a €150m share buyback programme, underscoring our commitment to shareholder returns as a key element of our capital allocation framework.”