The Allwyn UK arm of Allwyn Group has announced that it will carry out a “major” upgrade of the National Lottery later this week, with online and mobile services to go offline while work is carried out.
Allwyn said the upgrade will take place from 11pm GMT on 24 January until the end of 25 January. Both the National Lottery website and app will be unavailable during this period, with Allwyn saying it will be the most “significant” improvement since 2009.
Some 11.8 million National Lottery player accounts will be migrated to a new account management system. Alongside this, Allwyn will roll out an expanded and refreshed digital offering for the lottery. This will include a wider range of games, improved player protection tools and an easier way for players to check results and claim prizes.
Retail unaffected by digital upgrades
Players can continue to purchase physical tickets and scratchcards from retailers during the downtime. Draw results will also be updated to the National Lottery YouTube channel and made available in stores. In addition, the lottery’s customer care team will be on hand to support players during the upgrade.
“These much-needed digital upgrades mark another milestone in our transformation to make the National Lottery more player-focused, with new games, more winners and greater support for good causes,” Allwyn UK CEO Andria Vidler said.
“This is just the beginning of an exciting year for Allwyn and the National Lottery, as we work towards our ambitious goal to double weekly returns to good causes from £30 million a week at the start of the licence to £60 million by 2034.”
Allwyn making progress with National Lottery
Confirmation of the upgrade comes after Allwyn faced criticism over delays to changes and improvements pledged when it took control of the UK National Lottery on 1 February 2024. Among these was the intention to double the amount sent to good causes, as referenced by Vidler.
There were also delays to technical upgrades across National Lottery systems. This was due to be fully completed by February 2025 but was not finalised until later in the year.
In August 2025, Allwyn confirmed the first phase with a major technology upgrade to retail operations. As will be the case with digital this coming weekend, systems were completely shut down to allow for the transition, with Scientific Games carrying out the switch overnight. The upgrade was fully completed in September. Scientific Games’ Momentum now powers the National Lottery’s operations across 43,500 retailers.
Threat of regulatory action remains
Ahead of this, reports emerged that the Gambling Commission could take action against Allwyn over the issue. Areas of concern included delays to technology digital upgrades and the reduction in ticket prices, which were due to drop from £2 to £1. However, with confirmation that the digital upgrade is now set to go ahead, this could ease some of the pressure on Allwyn.
Earlier this month, Allwyn also created a new retail managing director role, with experienced executive Bridget Lea appointed to the position. Allwyn said the role reflects its “renewed focus” on accelerating performance in its retail channel for the National Lottery.
The upgrade will take place from 11pm on 24 January and run until the end of the following day.