Allwyn continues to gain ground across Europe, recording revenue growth across most of its core markets with the exception of Italy – but it is more than confident in its prospects in the latter.
A Q1 snapshot saw Allwyn’s Italian revenue drop 1% to €126m (€128m) during Q1, as did adjusted revenue to €102m (€103m). However, this has not dented leadership’s confidence in the market.
The lottery conglomerate secured a big win in Italy as LottoItalia, the consortium led by IGT which Allwyn is part of alongside three other firms, secured a new nine year licence to operate the Italian national lottery.
“We were delighted that the LottoItalia consortium was successful in being proposed for the next nine-year licence to run the iconic Italian Lotto, after the end of the quarter,” Robert Chvatal, Allwyn CEO.
From front to front
Italy is not the firm’s only focus market, however. Allwyn counts five core markets – the UK, Austria, Italy, and North America, focusing more on B2B services in the latter via Allwyn Lottery Systems and Instant Win Gaming (IWG), which returned revenue of €60m, up 2% from €59m.
In Europe its activity is much more B2C. Just north of Italy, in Austria, Allwyn is operator of the Austrian Lotteries, and saw revenue for this vertical up 6% to €423m (€400m) and adjusted EBITDA was up 3% to €67m (€65m). The firm further bolstered its position in German towards the end of Q1 by acquiring a minority stake in draw-games reseller Next Lotto.
“We look forward to continuing to work together with our partners to deliver for players and all stakeholders, while also supporting responsible play,” said Chvatal.
“Also after the end of the quarter, we acquired a minority interest in Next Lotto, a licensed online reseller of draw-based games offered by state lotteries across Germany, further expanding our geographic footprint.”
In the Czech Republic, its original SAZKA subsidiary saw revenue rise marginally by 1% to €132m (€130m) but adjusted EBITDA was down 1% to €33.5m (€33.8m), attributed to higher marketing costs.
Turning to Greece and Cyprus, OPAP continues to stand out as one of the market’s leading betting and lotteries operators. Allwyn’s revenue from the two countries rose 8% to €617m (€571m) while adjusted revenue was up 7% to €206m (€191m).
Further consolidating its position in Greek sports betting, Allwyn expects to complete its acquisition of a 51% stake in Novibet in the second half of 2025, having made a €20m down payment in January.
Finally, arguably Allwyn’s biggest asset right now is the 10 year licence it holds for the UK National Lottery, having won the contest in 2022, acquired long-term lottery operator Camelot in 2023, and began operating in February 2024.
Revenue from the country was up 4% from €957m to €1bn, with the group finding confidence in the top-line figures, stating that it is ‘focused on the ongoing execution of our plans to transform the UK National Lottery’.
These plans have come with investments, however, with the company having introduced a new profitability and incentive mechanism. The group cited this as the key reason for adjusted EBITDA declining 50% from €17.8m to €8.9m.
Moving forward, the group intends to continue investing in upgrading the National Lottery’s infrastructure and technology as it progresses through the 10-year licence it took stewardship of in February 2024.
Where does this leave Allwyn?
Allwyn’s Q1 accounts showed revenue growth of 6% year-over-year from €2bn to €2.2bn, with net revenue rose 4% from €889m to €926m and adjusted EBITDA was up 1% from €357m to €362m.
The company’s results reflect its broad geographic reach, with Allwyn originating as Sazka in the Czech Republic before embarking on international expansion and initiated a group-wide rebrand in 2022.
This global expansion over the past few years has set Allwyn up as one of the world’s largest lottery companies, and this clearly translated into revenue gains as shown by this year’s Q1 statement.
It has also led to some increases in costs, however. The Q1 statement notes increased marketing costs YoY as well as an increase in corporate costs after the simplification of the group’s structure in 2024.
Moving into H2, Allwyn’s net debts remain substantial, with the principal amount standing at €4.8bn and pro rota net figure at €2.7bn. In May, the firm gave a loan of €190.5m to Allwyn AG, the parent company. The group is confident in its ability to move forward and make further progress off the back of these loans, however.
Chvatal concluded: “Lastly, we continued to diversify and optimise our capital structure in the first quarter. In February, we successfully repriced our $450m Term Loan B facility, lowering the margin, while also increasing its size by $100m.
“In March, we completed our debut transaction in the EUR institutional Term Loan B market, raising €475m with a maturity of seven years, while also upsizing our USD Term Loan B by a further $75m. These transactions further optimise our cost of funding and maturity profile, as well as adding access to a new pool of capital, and we are grateful for the continued support of our investors.
“Overall, I am pleased with the start of the year and believe we are well-placed for the remainder of 2025. As always, I look forward with excitement to what the future holds for Allwyn, as we continue to focus on delivering our strategy.”