National Lottery could roll out new draw within weeks after £450m tech upgrade

The National Lottery could be rolling out a new draw game within weeks after completing a £450 million major tech upgrade and reeling in a million more online players.

The lottery firm, which dished out an £83 million jackpot to a UK EuroMillions winner last year, said game launches were imminent.

Its operator Allwyn said it had completed a major IT upgrade which involved moving 18 million player records and more than three billion historical transactions from old platforms to new ones, and transforming the technology used by retail partners.

The National Lottery website and app went offline for about 24 hours in January while the work was carried out.

The £450 million upgrade also included improvements to its digital systems which are expected to lead to the launch of new games and attract more players.

New player protections have been brought in including mandatory personal deposit and spend limit settings, as well as automatic logouts after 60 minutes, with a 10-minute cooling-off period, and regular 20-minute “reality checks” for instant game players.

Allwyn took over the 10-year licence to run the National Lottery in 2024 from Camelot, which had operated the draw since its launch in 1994.

New figures from Allywn show a record number of people are playing National Lottery games online, leading the operator to tot up a 10% rise in digital sales last year.

The lottery firm generated digital sales worth £4.1 billion in 2025, up 9.8% on the previous year.

Some 12.1 million people were playing the National Lottery on digital platforms, including the website and app, a million more than the year before.

People can play draw games online including the Lotto and the EuroMillions as well as instant games with the chance to win prizes.

Total sales, including lottery tickets bought in shops, came in at £8.1 billion in 2025, up 3.5% on the previous year.

More than £1.7 billion was generated for what it calls ‘good causes’ – which incorporates funding for health, education, arts, sports heritage and charitable causes – and £967 million was raised in taxes.

Andria Vidler, the chief executive of Allwyn UK, said: “We are delighted to have delivered growth to the National Lottery while successfully completing the largest international upgrade in lottery history.

“This is a hugely exciting time for the National Lottery and its players, as these much-needed upgrades now allow us to launch new games and products, meaning we can generate more money than ever before for good causes.”