By Jess Jones
Allwyn, the future operator of the National Lottery, has reported a 98 per cent surge in total revenue despite recently saying it will barely increase its charity donations next year.
Third quarter revenue jumped to €2bn (£1.7bn), up 98 per cent from the same period last year.
The Czech company said this was driven by two significant acquisitions in early 2023 of Camelot UK, the current operator of the UK National Lottery, and Allwyn LS Group, the current operator of the Illinois Lottery.
It is set to take over as National Lottery operator in February next year, marking the first time in the lottery’s 29-year history that it will switch hands.
But Allwyn recently warned it will initially fall short of promises when it steps up to become the country’s largest distributor of charity funds.
When bidding for the lucrative contract to take over the lottery, Allwyn stated%2020%20September%202022%3A,better%2C%20and%20safer%20National%20Lottery.): “Under Allwyn’s stewardship, sales growth is expected to result in the money allocated to UK good causes more than doubling.”
But in October, chief executive Robert Chvátal said the lottery “may get a headwind initially”, meaning the money meant for good causes drops below the amount originally projected for the first two years.
