Allwyn is taking the next major step in its wide-ranging transformation plan for the UK National Lottery, which is set to undergo its biggest technology upgrade since 1994.
Transforming core gaming and retail systems, the upgrade will involve launching new terminal software and moving systems to new platforms, as well as a number of other back-end technology upgrades.
The upgrades include the delivery of more than 30 new systems and complex data migrations, including the transfer of tens of thousands of retailer records and millions of transactions.
“These critical tech upgrades follow on from our continuous progress in modernising The National Lottery, which hasn’t had a major refresh since 2009,” said Allwyn director of operations Jenny Blogg. “This includes introducing a fresh new look in our 43,500 retail partners with new stands, dispensers and signage, as well as rolling out state-of-the-art lottery terminals and a new in-store network provided by Vodafone.”
The technology updates will take place between 2-4 August, taking National Lottery services offline from 11pm on Saturday, following the Lotto and Thunderball draws, until late Monday morning.
Players will not be able to log into their online accounts, buy draw tickets or claim prizes – in-store or online – during this time.
Allwyn said that over the next 10 days, there are several activities to deliver before gaining final approval for this date, including final testing and helping retailers to understand how to use new National Lottery systems.
“We’re very grateful for our retail partners’ continued support through these latest upgrades,” continued Blogg. “We’ve been working hard to make sure retailers can get back up and running as quickly as possible after the weekend, so it’s really important that they follow the instructions in their support pack.
“While these significant updates will mean short-term disruption for players and our retail partners, they will allow us to deliver on our promise to bring new, exciting games to The National Lottery; a better player experience; and our commitment to double returns to Good Causes from £30 million to £60 million every week by the end of the 10-year licence.”
Once services come back online on Monday 4 August, around 8,000 National Lottery retailers will switch over to Scientific Games’ Wave terminals, which will allow them to process player transactions more quickly.
The remainder of retailers will be using the new software that went live over the weekend on their existing terminals, and will receive their own new Wave terminals in the coming months.