Allwyn announces biggest tech upgrade to The National Lottery since 1994 this coming weekend
Major updates are part of wide-ranging transformation plan and will see most National Lottery services unavailable from 11pm on Saturday (2 August) until Monday morning (4 August).
Allwyn, the operator of The National Lottery, today announced the biggest tech upgrade to The National Lottery since it first launched in 1994.
What’s happening?
National Lottery draw game sales and all prize claims will be temporarily paused in shops across the UK from 11pm Saturday night until late Monday morning. The National Lottery website and app will also be unavailable for the same period of time.
During this time, Allwyn will be transferring and upgrading The National Lottery’s core gaming and retail technology systems to brand new platforms, as well as making a number of other crucial back-end tech improvements. This includes the delivery of 30+ new systems, as well as complex data migrations – including the transfer of tens of thousands of retailer records and millions of transactions from the old to the new systems.
Over the next few days, there are several activities to deliver before gaining final approval for this date. This includes final testing, informing players about the upgrades and helping retailers to understand how to use new National Lottery systems.
Allwyn has been supporting its retail partners with over 39,000 phone calls, emails and face-to-face rep visits – with another 20,000 follow-up calls taking place this coming Sunday. Comprehensive upgrade support packs have also been sent out to all 43,500 stores – these include customer-facing posters and table-toppers to keep in-store players informed.
What does this mean for National Lottery players?
Following Saturday night's Lotto and Thunderball draws, The National Lottery website/app and retail lottery terminals will shut down at 11pm, meaning players won’t be able to log into their online accounts, buy draw tickets or claim prizes – in-store or online – until Monday. With no National Lottery draw taking place, Sundays typically tend to be a much quieter day.
Players will still be able to check results until systems go offline and will still be able to buy Scratchcards in The National Lottery’s 43,500 partnered shops for the duration. They’ll also be able to see the latest National Lottery draws and view the full results for the Saturday draws on The National Lottery’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/thenationallottery
It’s expected that a small proportion of legacy in-store terminals may experience delays coming back up if certain upgrade processes were interrupted for various reasons. Most retailers that follow the guidance in their retailer support pack will experience a smooth return to service. To assist those who might need additional support, Allwyn has specialist teams standing by to get them back up and running as quickly as possible.
As most of this weekend’s updates are initially taking place behind the scenes, digital players can expect the same familiar National Lottery online experience. However, the new state-of-the-art lottery terminals that will be going live in stores will speed up transactions for in-store players and retailers alike. Additionally, more great changes will be coming very soon, details of which will be shared with players, retailers and partners well in advance.
Why is this happening?
The legacy systems and in-store terminals powering The National Lottery date back to 2009, before iPads, Uber and Instagram. These now need to be modernised to deliver on Allwyn’s ambitions for a National Lottery fit for the future. Allwyn has already invested more than £350m on this vital overhaul.
Allwyn’s CEO, Andria Vidler, commented: “This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to deliver The National Lottery that the UK deserves. We’re making unprecedented and much-needed changes, which will move us closer to achieving our vision for The National Lottery, restoring its magic and significantly increasing its positive impact on lives across the UK.
“These major upgrades will mean short-term disruption for players and our retail partners but they will allow us to deliver on our promise to bring new, exciting games; a better player experience; and our commitment to double returns to Good Causes from £30m to £60m every week by the end of the 10-year licence.”
What else is there to know?
More generally, these upgrades follow on from the continuous progress Allwyn has been making on modernising The National Lottery – which hasn’t had a major refresh since 2009 – including:
Introducing a fresh new look for The National Lottery in 43,500 shops across the UK with new stands and signage, as well as rolling out state-of-the-art lottery terminals and a new in-store network provided by Vodafone
Paying retail prizes directly into players’ bank accounts for the first time (these prizes were previously paid by cheque)
Bringing in new ways to play, including via home delivery and at all Aldi self-checkouts
Launching a number of new campaigns and over 200 new instants games, as well as inventive Scratchcard concepts and high-profile partnerships
Introducing a series of pioneering new player protection measures
All of this has been transforming The National Lottery experience and has enabled Allwyn to protect and maintain returns to Good Causes in the company’s first 18 months of operation.
More generally, these upgrades follow on from the continuous progress Allwyn has been making on modernising The National Lottery – which hasn’t had a major refresh since 2009 – including:
- Introducing a fresh new look for The National Lottery in 43,500 shops across the UK with new stands and signage, as well as rolling out state-of-the-art lottery terminals and a new in-store network provided by Vodafone
- Paying retail prizes directly into players’ bank accounts for the first time (these prizes were previously paid by cheque)
- Bringing in new ways to play, including via home delivery and at all Aldi self-checkouts
- Launching a number of new campaigns and over 200 new instants games, as well as inventive Scratchcard concepts and high-profile partnerships
- Introducing a series of pioneering new player protection measures
All of this has been transforming The National Lottery experience and has enabled Allwyn to protect and maintain returns to Good Causes in the company’s first 18 months of operation.
Facts/figures:
- The scale and complexity of this project is unprecedented in the 30-year history of The National Lottery, and this weekend’s upgrades include:
- The delivery of 30+ new systems
- A series of complex data migrations – including the transfer of tens of thousands of retailer records and millions of transactions from the old to the new systems
- Upgrading to modern contact centre technology to further enhance the player and retailer experience
- Moving to new marketing and finance systems
- All of this has been underpinned by a meticulously planned and thorough systems integration and testing programme of work-
- Allwyn has been supporting its 43,500 retail partners with:
- More than 39,000 phone calls, emails and face-to-face rep visits – with another 20,000 follow-up reminder calls taking place this coming Sunday
- Comprehensive upgrade support packs have also been sent out to all 43,500 stores – these include customer-facing posters and table-toppers to keep in-store players informed
- Double the amount of retail support resource – including Retail Sales Executive and engineers – available on the ground
- The number of agents taking calls on The National Lottery Line and Retailer Hotline will treble on Sunday – and be four times the usual number on Monday – to be able to provide enhanced support to players and retailers during this significant upgrade
- - Customer service colleagues have carried out over 6,500 hours of training on the new systems
https://www.allwyn.co.uk/insights/allwyn-announces-biggest-tech-upgrade-to-the-national-lottery-since-1994-this-coming-weekend