Allwyn Names Fredrik Ögren as Group CTO

Key Points

• Fredrik Ögren, ex-Betsson CTO, is now Allwyn’s Group CTO with a job reporting to a digital chief.
• Meanwhile Brett Cross moves into a new role as CTO of Global Lottery and turns out to be Ögren’s number two.
• It turns out 2025 was a bit of a turning point for the UK National Lottery 51% of sales were now from digital for the first time.

Allwyn Hire Ex Betsson CTO Fredrik Ögren as New Group CTO

Allwyn has just got a new Top Tech Boss & while the title itself is a pretty big deal, it’s his bosses, and who he reports to, that’s the really juicy bit. Fredrik Ögren, with five years of CTO experience at Betsson Group, has joined Allwyn as Group CTO starting October 6th. He’ll be working for Kresimir Spajic, the CEO of Allwyn Digital not the group chief exec.

So what does that mean for Ögren’s remit? Well according to the official appointment announcement he’s been tasked with building a better-connected and more efficient tech system. This will help drive sales growth and make customers happier, all of which happens by teaming up with Allwyn people across the group.

Who’s New and Who’s On The Move at Allwyn?

All of which means a bit of a shuffle at the top of Allwyn’s tech team. Specifically Brett Cross, who has done a temporary stint as Group CTO, is moving on. He’s been made CTO of Global Lottery and is also getting a deputy title, i.e. Deputy Group CTO. And guess what? He gets to report to Ögren.

So the new structure is this: Ögren is at the top and he’s got his number two in Cross, who will now look after the lottery side and report to Ögren. And Ögren in turn reports to Spajic.

Fredrik Ögren: Who is He?

Ögren had a bit of an unusual background before joining Betsson which is probably why he’s so keen on the bigger picture. Before Betsson, he used to work for some of Sweden’s top newspapers Expressen & Dagens Industri. He started life at Betsson as a cloud and DevOps director so he had to be clever with technology even then. He soon got promoted to platforms and infrastructure director in Jan 2021.

Then in July 2021 he got the top job as Betsson CTO a role he did for five years. And just as he was about to leave Betsson, Allwyn announced his name at the top of a press release.

Ögren and Spajic’s Views

Ögren chose to remain general in his initial statements by focusing on the link between technology and player experiences. “Technology is crucial in creating great player experiences and enabling innovation and long-term success for our business,” he stated.

The view of Spajic was much more specific in regard to the expected future actions. “It marks an important milestone as we continue building a more scalable technology platform within the Group to create even greater experiences for our customers and partners,” he commented. Spajic also congratulated Cross saying that “Fredrik and Brett form a great technology leadership team for the next stage of Allwyn’s growth”.

Here, it should be noted the importance of the term “scalable” as today Allwyn operates much wider than lotteries only.

Why are Digital Skills Important Today?

The numbers from Allwyn’s UK operation explain why digital skills have become so important for today’s business. In 2025, digital sales amounted to 51% of National Lottery sales, which was the first time ever in 31 years that digital surpassed half of the sales. Digital sales rose to £4.1bn (+9.8%) and a record 12.1 million players use Allwyn’s digital channels. To achieve that, Allwyn migrated 18 million players’ accounts and over 3 billion previous transactions to over 30 systems.

New group numbers add additional evidence of the digital trend. Net revenue grew by 27% in Q2 of 2026 to €1,246m, largely driven by PrizePicks. Without PrizePicks and higher Austrian gaming taxes, the net revenue would grow only by 5%. Lottery net revenue dropped by 2% to €498m, as in the same period the year before the group had a strong jackpot run.

A Lot of Mergers Are on the Agenda

Apart from that, Ogren will also receive a company that grows fast due to extremely large mergers. In January, Allwyn completed the acquisition of 62.3% ownership in PrizePicks for just under $1.6bn. The business combination with Greek operator OPAP also made the enlarged Allwyn listed on the Athens Stock Exchange.

There may be more acquisitions coming, as Spajic recently reported to iGB that a number of negotiations are ongoing. However, the executive noted there is no need to hurry. “We don’t feel that pressure, we want to do the right deal,” he said. When Allwyn decided not to proceed with its Novibet bid, Spajic mentioned “technology, talent” among other things.

A Betting Influenced Leadership

The Ögren hiring is just another example of senior hiring in the group. Spajic arrived from Betfred US, whereas the former William Hill and 888 employee Phil Walker joined Allwyn UK as interim CEO on 7 September. Former Virginia Lottery CEO Khalid Reede Jones became CEO of Allwyn North America in June and started work in July.

Walker’s hire is already under criticism from two MPs, who are pushing for stricter gambling regulations. Labour’s Dawn Butler and Conservative Iain Duncan Smith addressed the Gambling Commission expressing deep concern. The main concern is related to William Hill’s record £19.2m fine in 2023, associated with violations in 2020 and 2021. Walker held high positions in the UK branch of William Hill at that time and faced sanctions in May 2024, yet he did not lose his licence.

Expert Analysis: Is Allwyn Still a Lottery Company First and Foremost?

In our view, it is difficult to argue with Ögren’s hiring and see strong business logic in it. An experienced CTO, who designed and implemented Betsson’s platforms in many regulated jurisdictions, is just what Allwyn needs now.

However, we have our reservations regarding the reporting line rather than the appointment itself. Allwyn’s lottery technology no longer reports directly to the lottery chief but goes through the digital one, which reflects Allwyn’s vision for its future, although not officially stated.

Also, Brett Cross deserves more attention than mentioned in the press release. He acted as interim technology chief for the group, now he works under the authority of his replacement.

Our main concern is related to cultural issues rather than one specific appointment. The National Lottery generates around £33m weekly for charitable purposes, which is a key mission of its licence. In light of such appointments of many senior executives from betting companies, we wonder how loud the lottery’s voice will be heard. The MPs’ letter regarding Walker seems like a warning sign to us, although the regulator was notified.

It will take several coming months to check out whether our concern was justified or not. Pay attention to who will become the permanent CEO of Allwyn UK and whether he or she is also from the betting industry. Another point of interest is how Ögren manages to integrate platforms without damaging the lottery, which was recently upgraded with a £450m investment.