Allwyn took control of the National Lottery yesterday (1 February) after the fourth licence came into effect. Scientific Games said it has been working with Allwyn to prepare for the handover of responsibilities.
The strategic initiatives see Scientific Games focus on growing the National Lottery responsibly and minimising environmental impact.
These include the opening of Scientific Games’ new scratchcard logistics facility in the UK to serve National Lottery retailers. The Warrington-based facility features Scientific Games’ SciTrak for the ordering and sorting of scratchcards.
According to Scientific Games, this is the first of many scheduled deliverables planned for its partnership with Allwyn. Other initiatives include the conversion of the National Lottery’s technology to Scientific Games’ ‘Symhony’ enterprise gaming system. This also covers more than 40,000 retail terminals.
In addition, Scientific Games will provide a new digital platform and a range of instant win games. These are being developed by SG Studios and partner studios worldwide via the SG Content Hub and Partner Programme.
Scientific Games and Allwyn target responsible growth
“We commend Allwyn on its vision for growing the National Lottery and substantially increasing returns to National Lottery-funded projects as a result,” Scientific Games’ president of international and strategic accounts, Michael Conforti, said.
“We’ve long-awaited this moment, made possible through a close, working partnership. Together, we’ve proven our ability to navigate challenges necessary to begin delivering sustainable and responsible growth to the UK National Lottery on time and across channels.
“With more technology and products being deployed over the course of the licence, this is going to be a very exciting time for The National Lottery, its retailers, players and beneficiaries.”
Allwyn UK CEO Andria Vidler reflected these comments, setting out the operator’s vision for the National Lottery.
“Our ambition is to offer more games, attract more players, inject more entertainment, create more winners and raise even more money for National Lottery-funded projects,” Vidler said.
“Powering that ambition is a significant investment in our technology and operations as we modernise to secure The National Lottery’s future sustainability.”
“Returns to Good Causes”
Marking yesterday’s handover, the Gambling Commission set out more details of the fourth licence.
New initiatives include an Incentive Mechanism. Here, all National Lottery products will now make “Returns to Good Causes” at the same level. In addition, Allwyn will only see profits rise if good causes returns go up.
“The fourth licence by design will mean more of every pound spent on the National Lottery will go to good causes while still making sure it is safe to play,” Commission executive director Andrew Rhodes said.
Original article: https://igamingbusiness.com/lottery/scientific-games-support-plan-allwyn-national-lottery/
