Allwyn CEO Robert Chvátal has claimed that the UK’s lottery market is lagging behind some of its counterparts in Europe.
The firm reported revenue of €1.2bn for Q1 2026, with the UK revenue rising 3% year on year to €224m. However, adjusted EBITDA fell from €9m to €4m.
Speaking on Allwyn’s analyst call following the results announcement, Chvátal admitted developments in the UK had progressed slower than expected.
He said: “On the UK, we’ve been working on the transition a bit longer than we wanted, admittedly. It has one important benefit in that we have a new technology platform, both in retail as well as digitally.
“This is the year where the UK business should start delivering on top line growth. We believe the UK market, if you compare the average lottery product spend per capita, is lagging behind Italy or even France.
“There is potential. That’s the expectations from 2026 in the UK. We want to grow more than what was the case in 2025, simply because the business was focussing on transition.”
Kenneth Morton, Allwyn CFO, added: “The biggest opportunity in the UK has always been growing ARPU and increasing penetration, which is significantly below what you see in other comparable European countries.
“There’s clearly a big opportunity there and Powerball and Lotto are the first steps towards capturing that opportunity. There’s also a clear turnaround in profitabilty and cash flow generation coming in this year.”
The operator first assumed control of the UK’s National Lottery in February 2024 having first been awarded the licence by the Gambling Commission in 2022.
Allwyn would go on to complete a major digital overhaul of the National Lottery in January as part of the firm’s £400m investment into the product.
Part of the upgrades included a revamped Lotto offering, which is set to go live on 7 June, in addition to the launch of a new Powerball draw.
Turning attention towards the US market, Chvátal suggested the business could look to expand into more states.
Allwyn completed its acquisition of DFS operator PrizePicks at the start of the year, obtaining a 62.3% stake in the company in a deal worth $1.6bn.
The Q1 financial report showed revenue from North America amounted to €239m, up from €60m the year prior thanks to PrizePicks’ contribution.
Earlier this week, Allwyn also named Khalid Jones as its new North America CEO. Jones will only be responsible for the lottery arm, with PrizePicks being managed by its existing management team
Chvátal added: “When it comes to North America, the appointment of Khalid Jones, who was the lottery director in Virginia and also has experience as a regulator, is important in the North American lotteries space.
“We believe that by sealing this extension for three more years in Illinois within the private management agreement, we made no secret that we believe that Allwyn is well-positioned to be expanding into other US states.”
“We believe that PMA or delivering our technology going forward is the right answer, and a way to indicate that there could be more to come in the US.”
The post UK lottery spend per capita “lagging behind” other European markets, says Allwyn CEO first appeared on EGR Intel.
Robert Chvátal highlights the country’s potential despite falling short of its counterparts in Italy and France, as the operator plots expansion across the US
The post UK lottery spend per capita “lagging behind” other European markets, says Allwyn CEO first appeared on EGR Intel.