UKGC Tells National Lottery Operator Allwyn to Do More for Good Causes

^{Gambling Commission acting chief executive Sarah Gardner has pressed Allwyn to generate more money for good causes while keeping player protection standards high. (Photo: Chris Downer / Wikimedia Commons)}

The Gambling Commission's acting chief executive has told National Lottery operator Allwyn UK it needs to do more to grow the sums it generates for good causes, while holding the line on player protection.

Speaking at Allwyn's first National Lottery Participant Protection Conference, Sarah Gardner acknowledged progress since Allwyn took over the licence but made clear the regulator expects more. "All of us being here today is strong evidence that progress has been made," Gardner said at the event. "But of course, there is always more to do."

A Rocky Start to the Fourth Licence

Allwyn has had a difficult run since taking over the National Lottery licence. Former chief executive Andria Vidler stepped down in September after overseeing what the company has called the largest technology upgrade in the National Lottery's history, a project reported to have cost around £450 million after delays. Phil Walker, formerly UK and Ireland chief at William Hill, has since taken over as interim chief executive, though his appointment has drawn scrutiny over his recent links to City Gaming Limited, a major operator of adult gaming centres.

The technology overhaul has also brought its own "teething problems," Gardner said, even as it opened up opportunities to strengthen player protection across both retail and online lottery products.

Sales Falling Short of Long-Term Targets

Gardner's comments land as Allwyn faces pressure to lift lottery sales and, with them, its contribution to good causes. The operator generated £1.8 billion for good causes in the 2025/26 reporting year, broadly flat on its first year running the licence but well below the pace needed to hit its original ambition of £38 billion over the full ten-year licence term. That original target has since been replaced with a longer-term goal of reaching £60 million a week for good causes by the end of the licence.

The picture has got harder to read since then: sales fell 12.5% year-on-year in the first quarter of the 2026/27 reporting period, a drop that followed Allwyn's lottery sales fall even as profit climbed in an earlier reporting period, continuing a pattern of softer top-line sales even as margins improve. Gardner pointed to the launch of Powerball as an example of Allwyn trying to drive both innovation and higher returns.

Protection Expectations Rise With the Licence

"The importance of generating money for good causes cannot be overestimated," Gardner said, according to comments from the conference reported by Gambling News. At the same time, she said the regulator expects innovation in products like Powerball to go hand in hand with stronger player safeguards, not instead of them.

The Commission has not announced any formal enforcement action against Allwyn over the sales figures or the technology rollout. Gardner's remarks instead set out the regulator's expectations ahead of what is likely to be continued scrutiny of the National Lottery's performance over the remainder of its ten-year licence term.