Major change at the National Lottery, with plans to reduce ticket prices being investigated
THE new operator of the National Lottery has admitted plans to halve the price of a ticket are currently being explored.
Allwyn was chosen by the Gambling Commission to replace Camelot, the National Lottery operator since its launch in 1994.
It promised to “revive” the draw, with the number of players having fallen by eight million since 2012.
But now the company has said its original pledge to halve the price of a lottery ticket from £2 to £1 is being revised.
Plans for new draw-based games have also been postponed until 2025.
This will impact sales and limit the amount of money it can give to charities in the first part of its ten-year license.
Andria Vidler, Allwyn's UK boss, said the group would not be able to make the bigger changes it had promised to make until next year.
Ms Vidler, who took the helm of Allwyn's UK operations last October, said the group is trying to ensure that money for charities does not “go backwards” this year, but that this funding will be directly affected by sales growth.
Of course, Allwyn as a group is disappointed.
Andria Vidler
She said players would not notice any “Big Bang changes” from day one, adding that the delays to new games were a “result of the legal issues”.
Ms Vidler said players will see gradual changes take place over the coming year, including new scratch cards and a marketing push around the games, with a new Lotto advertising campaign from February.
Limits will also be introduced on the number of scratch cards that can be purchased in stores and online.
Players will not be able to purchase more than 10 at a time online starting February 1. Limits will be introduced at retailers later this year in a bid to “deter vulnerable people from indulging”, Ms Vidler said.
There will also be a review of some of the lottery's retail in-store kits over the coming year, with plans to launch a trial with a small number of retailers in February.
It will then roll out the new look kit to around 50 stores in late March, before expanding to all of its 40,000-plus retail partners in the fall.
The group's marketing campaign will initially focus on its individual draw-based games, while the group also plans to launch new scratch cards initiatives, capitalizing on the gift-giving trend.
Ms Vidler said Allwyn has looked to international markets for inspiration, aiming to launch new products such as scratch card advent calendars, which are sold in the Netherlands, largely as corporate gifts.
“There will be incremental changes every month in the first year, so that by the time the full technology transition is complete, much more will be visible,” she said.
The Feb. 1 transfer marks the first time the lottery has changed hands since its launch nearly 30 years ago.
It will also see Allwyn take control of what is Britain's largest distributor of charity funds.
The bottom line is you could win a whopping £111 million EuroMillions jackpot, making you richer than Idris Elba.
Transfer hampered by legal wrangling
It follows delays to a planned switch to a new technology supplier after Allwyn agreed to extend the contract for existing supplier, International Games Technology (IGT).
IGT had challenged the Gaming Commission's decision to award Allwyn the 10-year license in court, but later dropped the legal action.
There was also an intense legal battle with outgoing operator Camelot over the Commission's decision to award the license to Allwyn, which was eventually settled in February last year when Allwyn bought Camelot, although the two companies have continued to operate separately since then.
Ms Vidler said: “Until all these major challenges were resolved, we couldn't get started.
“The challenges delayed the final award of the license to Allwyn, shortening the transition period.”
Allwyn's winning bid promised to revamp the lottery with new games and draws, increase revenue and money for charities, and pledge to eventually double this funding by the end of the ten-year license.
Ms Vidler said the company was still committed to its long-term goal of doubling its funding for charities, but it would fall short of its early years targets.
Speaking about the delays to the plans, Ms Vidler said: “Of course Allwyn as a group is disappointed.
“There has been a lot of frustration with the continued delays, but collectively we have 10 years. It's not something that will happen week one or day one.”