Allywn plots major National Lottery retail upgrade in August

Summary

Allwyn has scheduled a major technology upgrade to the UK National Lottery retail and online systems between 2-4 August. Services will be taken offline from 23:00 on 2 August and are expected to return late morning on 4 August. The work will roll out new terminal software, migrate large volumes of retailer and player data, and introduce new in-store hardware and a Vodafone-provided network.

Around 43,500 retail partners are included in the project; roughly 8,000 will move to new Wave terminals when systems come back online while others will run updated software on existing devices. Physical scratchcards can still be bought during the outage but prizes cannot be claimed until after the upgrade completes. Allwyn says it will spend more than £350m on improvements and describes the project as the biggest tech refresh since the lottery launched in 1994.

Source

Source: https://igamingbusiness.com/lottery/allywn-retail-upgrade-national-lottery/

Key Points

• Upgrade scheduled 2-4 August; services offline from 23:00 on 2 August to late morning on 4 August (retail and online).
• About 43,500 retail partners affected; approximately 8,000 will switch to new Wave terminals initially.
• Major data migration: tens of thousands of retailer records and millions of player transactions moved to a new platform.
• Rollout includes new terminal software, new in-store stands, dispensers, signage and a Vodafone in-store network.
• Players can still buy physical scratchcards during the outage but cannot claim prizes until systems are restored.
• Allwyn plans to invest over £350m and says the work is the largest technology upgrade since 1994 (last major refresh in 2009).
• The upgrade comes amid reports of delays and Gambling Commission scrutiny over missed bid milestones, including digital upgrades and ticket-price commitments.
• Allwyn frames the work as part of a wider modernising plan, promising better player experience and increased returns to good causes (target: £60m/week by end of the licence period).

Context and relevance

This is a sector-level event: the upgrade touches nearly every retail outlet selling lottery tickets across the UK and involves a substantial data migration and hardware refresh. It follows concerns reported in the press and by the Gambling Commission about Allwyn’s delivery timeline, so the successful completion of this upgrade is likely to be watched closely by regulators, retailers and charities that receive lottery funding.

Why should I read this?

Heads up if you sell or buy lottery tickets — expect a short outage, delayed prize claims and new terminals landing in shops. For anyone following lottery funding, retail tech or regulatory pressure on operators, this is one of those “big update” moments that will shape how the National Lottery looks and runs for years. We’ve boiled the essentials down so you don’t have to trawl the full article.