Allywn plots major National Lottery retail upgrade in August
Summary
Allwyn has scheduled a major technology overhaul of the UK National Lottery retail network for 2-4 August. The upgrade — part of changes promised after the operator won the licence in February 2024 — will see both retail and online systems taken offline from 11pm on 2 August until late morning on 4 August.
The work covers new terminal software, migration to a new platform and significant back-end upgrades. More than 43,500 retail partners are included, with a mass data migration transferring tens of thousands of retailer records and millions of player transactions. Around 8,000 retailers will move to new Wave terminals when services return, with remaining shops receiving new software on existing devices and further Wave terminals arriving in the following months.
Allwyn says the refresh is the largest technology upgrade since the lottery began in 1994 and is part of a wider drive to modernise the product, introduce new in-store kit and double returns to good causes from £30m to £60m per week over the licence term. The operator has pledged more than £350m for improvements and says it will provide specialist support for any legacy terminals that face issues after the upgrade.
Source
Source: https://igamingbusiness.com/lottery/allywn-retail-upgrade-national-lottery/
Key Points
- • Upgrade scheduled for 2-4 August; services offline from 11pm on 2 August until late morning on 4 August (retail and online).
- • Physical scratchcards can still be bought in-store during the outage, but prize claims will be unavailable until systems return.
- • More than 43,500 retail partners affected; deployment includes new terminal software and a platform migration.
- • Large-scale data migration: tens of thousands of retailer records and millions of player transactions moved to the new system.
- • Approximately 8,000 retailers will switch to new Wave terminals immediately; others will run new software on existing terminals with further Wave deliveries to follow.
- • Some legacy in-store terminals may experience delays; Allwyn will offer specialist support where needed.
- • Allwyn calls this the biggest technology refresh since 1994 and is investing over £350m as part of wider modernisation plans, including new in-store stands, dispensers and Vodafone-provided networks.
- • The upgrade follows reports of delays and potential regulatory scrutiny from the Gambling Commission over missed contractual milestones.
Why should I read this?
Short version: big change, short downtime, and it matters if you sell, play or follow the lottery. If you run a shop, expect disruption and new kit. If you’re a player, you can still buy scratchcards but won’t be able to claim prizes during the outage. And if you care about how the National Lottery is run (funding for good causes, regulatory risk), this is a major step in Allwyn’s plan to modernise the system.
Author style
Punchy: this isn’t a minor patch — it’s a national-scale overhaul that affects tens of thousands of retailers and millions of transactions. Read the detail if you need to prepare operationally or want to understand the regulatory and funding implications behind the refresh.