Allwyn UK Reshuffles Leadership as National Lottery Sales Fall

Key Points

• They’re scrapping their tech, digital and strategy leadership roles over there at Allwyn UK. New structure comes into play on 1 December 2026.
• Payments to Good Causes came in at £388.3m between July and September, a 15.8% drop from the same time last year.
• You’ve got the chief marketing and chief digital positions either held on an interim basis or still empty, and it’s all causing a lot of worry about sales and whether they’re delivering.

Just two days after some pretty grim figures came out about the National Lottery paying out less, Allwyn UK has given three of its top execs the chop. Mark Smith, Richard Dawkins and Sarah Venning headed up tech, digital and strategy respectively. Allwyn UK confirmed the changes on 5 November, telling us that the positions are being axed for good, not just recast with new teams. They say it’s all about getting the company ready for growth, but the regulator’s latest figures paint a pretty bleak picture.

Three Senior Roles End, With New Ones Taking Their Place

It all kicks in on 1 December 2026. For now, interim chief executive Phil Walker will be in charge of the smaller team and will also take the reins on strategy. Allwyn says this is the next stage of its National Lottery overhaul.

Smith will stick around the company until June 2027, acting as a tech strategy adviser on the side. Venning is out as of the end of November, while Dawkins will be gone by December. Alastair Ruxton, who used to be the chief impact officer, will take on the role of director of social impact and report straight to Walker.

Stephen Taylor, a well-respected bloke from advisory firm CMO Thrive, is joining on 17 November as interim chief marketing officer. They still haven’t filled the chief digital officer spot, though, that one covers tech, data, platforms and results across digital channels.

Walker reckons the changes will bring “a lot clearer accountability for results” and give the retail and digital teams the tools they need to get the job done. The tech team still has its own separate role for now, Fredrik Ögren has been in that position since 6 October and reports to Kresimir Spajic. His appointment doesn’t replace the technology position being removed from the UK executive team.

National Lottery Payments Continue To Fall By 16%

According To The Gambling Commission’s new data, payments to Good Causes reached £388.3m during Q3 of the year from July to September. They fell by £72.7m, or 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

The total grew by 2.9% against April-June, but only due to other payments, which went up from £18.9m to £51.4m. In contrast, the Good Causes Contribution, received from sales, fell from £358.4m to £336.9m. Other payments cover unclaimed prizes, interest accrued in the bank, and some other sources.

The sales of the lottery decreased by 6.6% against the previous quarter and by 13.4% year on year. The greatest reduction was noted for EuroMillions and Lotto lotteries, as well as Instant Win Games. Sales were mitigated by Powerball, but there is no separate data on sales in the report of the Gambling Commission.

Sales fell at an even greater rate of 22.2% year on year in the April-June quarter. It reached £377.2m in the quarter. Sky noted that it was the lowest level of the payments in nearly a decade.

Allwyn committed to increase the weekly payments to Good Causes from £30m when it got the licence to £60m by the end of the term.

The company reported an average of £33m a week in 2025, and over £1.7bn raised within the year. Obviously, one quarter’s figures cannot be compared to the annual average. Moreover, the £60m is a goal set for the end of the licence period.

According to The Telegraph, the original tender offered £38bn for ten years. It equals approximately £3.8bn annually.

Interim CEO Under Pressure

Walker takes over the duties of the interim chief executive of Allwyn UK as pressure on the company is growing. Thus, The Guardian notes that on 26 August, MPs Dawn Butler and Iain Duncan Smith wrote to the Gambling Commission about the appointment of Walker.

In particular, they cited the formal warning of the regulator issued on 24 May 2024 after reviewing the personal management licence of Walker. The warning is related to his duties at William Hill between 2020 and 2021, not to his activities at Allwyn.

However, Walker managed to keep his licence. The regulator called him “cooperative, open and transparent”. Moreover, the MPs raised questions about his directorship at City Gaming.

Review of National Lottery Licence

Legal disputes surrounding the award of the licence stalled the transition to a new technology partner, PA noted. The Gambling Commission’s 2024-25 annual report highlighted another issue. Allwyn failed to meet a contractual deadline in February 2025 for full functionality.

An enforcement investigation was launched by the regulator, which was ongoing at the time of publishing of the annual report. In March 2026, Allwyn claimed that it had met all its implementation requirements, but the Commission clarified that the investigation is still underway.

On 17 April 2026, the High Court rejected all claims of The New Lottery Company and Northern & Shell. Northern & Shell is owned by Richard Desmond. It should be noted that the widely cited figure of £1.3bn relates to the damages claimed, not to the court ruling.

The Court of Appeal denied permission to appeal on 30 July. Government’s call for evidence on the distribution of Good Causes money closed on 23 September.

Dates to Remember

The current National Lottery licence began on 1 February 2024 and expires on 31 January 2034. A review can extend its term up to two years.

The National Audit Office is assessing the design, awarding and monitoring of the licence. Its findings are expected in spring 2027. Allwyn did not disclose whether any additional changes in its executives will happen prior to the launch of the new organisational structure.

The enforcement investigation, the National Audit Office study and the next round of payments will be another test of the company’s policies.

• 17 November 2026: Stephen Taylor becomes the interim chief marketing officer.
• End of November 2026: Sarah Venning leaves the company.
• 1 December 2026: The new organisational structure comes into effect.
• December 2026: Richard Dawkins leaves the company.
• June 2027: Adviser’s role of Mark Smith ends.
• Spring 2027: Findings of the National Audit Office study are expected.
• 31 January 2034: Expiry of the current National Lottery licence.

Expert Analysis

In our view, the executive changes at Allwyn give the company a new management structure, but they do nothing to address the underlying business issues. Total payments actually ticked up a bit from the last quarter, but only because other payments nearly tripled over that time. Meanwhile, the Good Causes Contribution, which is directly linked to ticket sales, plummeted by £21.5 million. Not to mention sales themselves were down a whopping 13.4% year on year. And we’re not convinced that just bringing in a new interim marketing chief is going to be enough to turn things around.

We currently have three senior positions that are either temporary or vacant. And when the permanent people eventually move into those roles, they’ll be stepping into a management structure that was designed by people who are only holding the reins on an interim basis. Walker’s promise of clearer accountability makes it sound like maybe responsibilities just weren’t all that clear under the previous system, but Allwyn is being pretty cagey about saying that out loud. As for the investigation into that missed technology deadline, we’ve seen the Commission’s report but we found nothing that ties it into the executive departures.

Taking away some of the management layers might actually help Allwyn make decisions quicker. And the licence still runs until 31 January 2034, so Allwyn’s got time to turn performance around. But you can bet that the critics will be questioning just how sensible it is to get rid of the technology leadership role while the regulator is still looking over their shoulder at how well they’re delivering on their promises. And as for the supporters, well they’ll probably be saying that having one clear chief executive is better than a whole bunch of overlapping senior positions.

Looking at Allwyn’s 2025 results, their UK adjusted EBITDA comes in at €34 million, which is just 2% of the group’s total €1.6 billion. And funnily enough, the Financial Times reported back in May that the National Lottery accounts for about 46% of group revenue. And we’re worried that as Allwyn prepares for the next licence competition, they’ve got a lot more to lose in terms of reputation than in profit margin.

Executive titles might change on a whim, but it takes several quarters for lottery payments to actually start turning around. And come 1 December, who’s actually going to be responsible for making sure those sales figures are where they should be?