National Lottery sales in the UK fell by 4% to €3.9bn (£3.3bn) year on year, with the decline attributed to a “weaker” EuroMillions performance.
The drop was revealed in Allwyn’s preliminary results, which highlighted performance for both the three-month and 12-month periods ending 31 December 2023. Underlying earnings in the UK also dropped by 5% to €181.4m.
In Allwyn’s International Full Year 2023 Preliminary Results presentation on 27 March, Kenneth Morton, chief financial operator, said the UK’s “lack of performance” was due to a weaker EuroMillions performance.
The full year trading results also attributed the fall to “unusually unfavourable EuroMillions jackpot cycles”, with only 14 EuroMillions draws with a jackpot above €100 million, compared with 33 draws the year before.
Former National Lottery operator Camelot was also blamed for its “limited product and channel developments” as its licence came to an end.
The weaker performance in the UK comes despite Allwyn’s global revenue being up 97% year-on-year in Q4 2023 on a reported basis. Allwyn also generated €7.88bn in revenue in its full-year (FY) financial results for 2023.
Reports also claimed that Allwyn would not be able to pay out as much to Good Causes in the UK, with delays to the new games planned for this year hitting the amount of money it can pay out in the early part of its 10-year licence.
Despite this, the company shared in its presentation plans to attract more players and increase Good Causes contributions, as well as invest in Instant Win Gaming (IWG), with the transaction to close in the second half of 2024.
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CEO comment
Robert Chvatal, Allwyn CEO, commented: “I am pleased to report that 2023 was another year of strong financial and operational performance and strategic progress. We continued to execute our growth strategies successfully, while maintaining our relentless focus on safer play and accountability to all our stakeholders.
“I believe that the consistent delivery by our teams, bringing new games, new features and upgrades to the player experience, as well as an expanded geographic footprint and enhancements to our in‑house technology and content, support our aspiration to be the operator of choice and position us well for future growth.”
Chvatal accredited this performance to “further progress in digital”.
He continued: “With respect to inorganic growth, 2023 was another year of delivery of our strategy, with the acquisitions of Camelot UK and Allwyn LS Group.
“Since the beginning of 2024, we have successfully started operation of the next 10-year licence for The National Lottery in the UK, in addition to announcing our plan to partner globally with and invest in IWG, a leading supplier of online instant win games. Through our inorganic growth strategy, we continue to expand our footprint and capabilities.”
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