The arrival of new National Lottery terminals to all 40,000 partnered stores has been delayed by ‘at least half a year’ according to operator Allwyn, which told Better Retailing that timings and plans already shared with stores remain unchanged.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Allwyn group chief executive Robert Chvátal predicted the National Lottery would initially fall short on  promises made by Allwyn in its application to run the service.

This includes generating less for good causes than originally projected in the first two years of the new license period, starting in February 2024.

While the firm is confident it will still achieve its 10 year targets, the admission suggests there will be lower than expected online and/or in store sales for National Lottery products in the shorter term.

Allwyn responds

Asked about the impact on partnered stores, an Allwyn spokesperson told Better Retailing: “Allwyn has exciting plans for The National Lottery – including for new games and marketing aimed at attracting millions of new players, as well as improvements in retail to modernise the in-store experience. The plan was never for overnight change on 1 February – the Fourth Licence is a 10-year licence, and transformation and investment will continue over the decade. So, while some of the phasing of the plan has slightly changed, our ambition to fundamentally improve The National Lottery and raise more money for Good Causes remains the same. 

“Crucially, everything we’ve communicated to retailers to date remains unchanged. As we’ve said all along, we’ve always wanted to ensure there is no disruption to retailers at the point of handover, and our teams across Allwyn and Camelot are working closely together to ensure that is the case. For retailers who have not yet completed their Transfer of Retailer Agreement, that’s the most important action right now with the deadline of 18 December approaching. Once that’s completed, retailers will continue trading seamlessly on their existing terminal and we will be in regular contact with them regarding new terminal rollout, which begins in 2024 – with plans for new and improved games and initiatives to also be communicated in due course.”

Expected impact on partnered stores

Rather than growing money for good causes, the firm said it is now battling just to avoid a fall in sales, with the company stating it was doing ‘everything in our power’ to avoid a year-on-year drop.

The cost of living crisis and other external factors were blamed by Allwyn, but the sales challenges may also be due to the group chief executive also admitting that the arrival of new terminals in stores, potentially leading the way for new services or games, have been delayed ‘by at least half a year’. The planned overhaul of its online games has also been delayed by the same timeframe.

The terminal arrival delay matches a delay to the switchover of terminal provider from International Games Technology (IGT) to Scientific Games.

The FT also reports that Allwyn’s new UK chief executive, Andria Vidler, described Allwyn’s pledge to cut ticket prices from £2 to £1 to increase sales and footfall is now also ‘under review’. She explained: “I’m allowed to come in and question things.”

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