Allwyn makes revenue gains in four out of five core markets

Pan-European lottery group Allwyn achieved revenue growth across its geographic portfolio and is confident in future prospects in Italy, Germany and the UK, although group-wide net debt remains substantial.

Allwyn’s Q1 accounts showed revenue growth of 6% year-over-year from €2bn to €2.2bn, with net revenue rising 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.

In 2025, its assets spread across the UK, as operator of the National Lottery; Greece and Cyprus, as 48% stakeholder in lottery and sports betting group OPAP; Czech Republic, under the Sazka brand; Austria, as operator of the Austrian Lotteries; and finally, North America, where it provides technology and content services.

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.

This helps explain the marginal increase in EBITDA by just 1% despite the overall increase in group revenue, which as stated above was uniform across all of the group’s geographies aside from Italy.

“I am very pleased to report a good start to 2025, with the continued successful execution of our growth strategies sustaining the positive momentum from our record performance in 2024,” said Robert Chvatal, Allwyn CEO.

Progress in the UK and a new dawn in Italy

Starting with the UK, 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.

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.

In the Czech Republic, where the group has its origins, revenue rose slightly by 1% to €132m (€130m) but adjusted EBITDA was down 1% to €33.5m (€33.8m), attributed to higher marketing costs.

On the other side of the Atlantic, the group’s B2B activity in the form of Allwyn Lottery Systems and Instant Win Gaming (IWG) returned revenue of €60m, up 2% from €59m.

However, EBITDA was down a huge 41% from €14m to €8.5m, which the group states was due to a lower incentive fee accrual in Illinois and unfavourable jackpot cycles negatively impacting gross gaming revenue (GGR) of the lottery during Q1.

In Austria, revenue was up 6% to €423m (€400m) and adjusted EBITDA was up 3% to €67m (€65m). In the wider DACH region, Allwyn bolstered its position in Germany towards the end of the quarter by acquiring a minority stake in draw-games reseller Next Lotto.

Finally, Italian revenue dropped 1% to €126m (€128m), as did adjusted revenue to €102m (€103m). Despite this, the group is confident in its Italian prospects post-Q1 due to being part of the LottoItalia consortium, alongside IGT, Arianna 2001, Novomatic Italia, which secured the nine year licence to Italy’s national lottery last month.

“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,” Chvatal added.

“We look forward to continuing to work together with our partners to deliver for players and all stakeholders, while also supporting responsible play. 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.”

Closing Q1, 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.”