Allwyn UK, the National Lottery operator, is making major changes to its leadership structure effective from December 2026 onwards, under the oversight of newly appointed Chief Executive Officer Phil Walker.
The restructuring sees Walker take on wider responsibility for Allwyn UK’s strategy and direction, taking on the duties of three c-level roles being phased out – Chief Technology Officer, Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer, and Managing Director – Digital.
Although a business heavily involved in and led by technology – the wider Allwyn group created the Allwyn Digital arm specifically for this purpose – Allwyn plans to integrate UK technology roles into an all-encompassing Digital, Retail and Security division, overseen by Walker as CEO.
A former executive at 888holdings (now evoke) Walker was announced as the incoming interim CEO of Allwyn UK in August 2026, replacing Adriana Vidler in the position.
Vidler had been CEO since 2023, joining 13 months after the firm won the fourth National Lottery licence tender, subsequently overseeing its ascent to management of the lottery in February 2024.
“The transformation of The National Lottery has involved an enormous amount of work across our business,” Walker remarked.
“Our challenge now is to turn that transformation into stronger growth, a better experience for players and retail partners, and more money for Good Causes.
“That means putting customers closer to our decisions, giving our Retail and Digital businesses the capabilities they need to compete and innovate, and creating much clearer accountability for performance.”
Mark Smith (CTO), Richard Dawkins (MD – Digital) and Sarah Venning (CSTO), will all leave Allwyn UK, with the latter two vacating in December and November respectively.
Smith will continue to work with the firm as Technology Strategy Advisory until June 2027.
With new leadership comes new responsibilities
The restructuring has seen the creation of a new role, too, however, – Director of Social Impact. This role will be taken on by Alastair Ruxton, Allwyn UK’s Chief Impact Officer from 2025.
Ruxton has been with the company since 2020, having joined as an advisor for its successful bid for the National Lottery contract.
As Director of Social Impact, Ruxton’s responsibilities will be to connect Allwyn UK’s mission of generating funds for good causes as National Lottery operator with other corporate missions.
This includes connecting the objective to Allwyn’s wider social value objectives and the National Lottery’s wider product portfolio.
Good causes are a central goal for Allwyn, and will be one of the key performance indicators the group is assessed against when its 10 year tenure as fourth National Lottery licence holder comes to an end in 2034.
The firm has set itself the target of doubling weekly returns to good causes from £30m to £60m a week by 2034. Achieving this target could be critical to whether or not the firm is successful in a bid to remain National Lottery operator.
“Good Causes are at the heart of what makes The National Lottery special,” Walker added.
We have a real opportunity to help more people understand the extraordinary difference players make through The National Lottery and make that an even stronger reason to play.
“Changes of this scale inevitably affect people who have played important roles in getting us to where we are today. This next stage builds on what they have helped us achieve, and I want to thank them personally for the contribution they and their teams have made to The National Lottery.”
As well as creating the Director of Social Impact role, Allwyn is also on the hunt for a new Chief Digital Officer (CDO). The role will be responsible for digital products and channels, customer experience, technology, data and platforms, automation and AI.
It is also creating a new Chief Marketing Officer position with responsibility for branding, marketing, creative activities, CRM, communications, winners’ services and customer experience.
Stephen Taylor, founder of strategic marketing advisory business CMO Thrive, will fill the vacancy on an interim basis from 17 November 2026.
