National Lottery’s technology upgrades suffer several delays. According to sources, Allwyn may further postpone a planned significant technology upgrade of the UK National Lottery, which would therefore affect fundraising and charity donations.
On February 1st of this year, Allwyn assumed leadership of the UK National Lottery, overseeing all operations and merchandise. Camelot, which has operated the National Lottery from its inception in 1994, was superseded.
Since Allwyn took over the tender, the National Lottery has not seen any big modifications, although preparations are underway for a huge upgrade. Allwyn’s winning proposal for the license, which is valid until January 2034, included this.
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But according to individuals close to the lottery, Allwyn has had trouble with the upgrading, according to a November 12 Telegraph story. Several deadlines were missed as a result, and Allwyn is currently reportedly aiming for a new one in February 2025.
According to sources, if problems continue, this goal may be postponed until the summer of next year. The update has been likened by some IT experts to “trying to stick a Microsoft system on top of an Apple computer.”
When International Games Technology (IGT) contested the choice to provide Allwyn the license, problems with the upgrading started. IGT, which has provided technology to Camelot since the Lottery’s inception, filed a claim for damages in the High Court.
In the end, IGT agreed to a new technological collaboration with Allwyn and requested that the Court of Appeal reject the lawsuit. However, the entire issue resulted in a six-month delay in the finalization of the license.
According to The Telegraph, Allwyn’s board will convene this week to choose when to implement the new method.
Threatening the £38 billion in donations committed
Allwyn’s vow to make charitable gifts during the bidding process has come under scrutiny due to the delays.
Over the duration of the licence, Allwyn stated that it hoped to more than double the amount donated to charities, from £17 billion (€21.5 billion/$22.6 billion) to £38 billion. This is predicated on the anticipated increase in involvement following the improvement.
The research does, however, predict that Allwyn will fall hundreds of millions of pounds short of expectations in the first two years. Later on in the license period, Allwyn intends to make this up. National Lottery’s technology upgrades may be postponed.
According to Allwyn UK CEO Andria Vidler, the improvement will benefit charitable organizations. According to her, the UK’s redesigned National Lottery will “boost funding” for worthy charities.
Allwyn has already issued a funding decrease warning.
Before Allwyn took over, charities were alerted to the possibility of a funding cut. According to reports, the organization stated that the £1.8 billion in funding from the previous year will remain unchanged in the first year.
Sales have slowed since Allwyn took over, which hasn’t helped, but it’s still optimistic about its long-term goal of tripling weekly donations for good causes to £60 million.
A representative for Allwyn stated, “We are spending over £350 million on the largest technology upgrade the National Lottery has ever had.” “We are trying to move from the current legacy systems, which have 30 years’ worth of data, to our new, contemporary platform.“
Free million-pound draws that are exempt from regulatory monitoring are becoming a bigger threat to charity lotteries like the National Lottery. However, as part of its review of the Gambling Act, the previous administration did state that it will take regulatory measures into consideration for these free drawings. Whether the new Labour government will carry out such plans is still up in the air.
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