National Lottery to suffer 36-hour outage in rush to deliver botched tech update
The National Lottery will be plunged into a 36-hour blackout this summer as its new owner rushes to deliver a botched tech upgrade.
Allwyn, which is controlled by Czech billionaire Karel Komarek, has warned retailers their National Lottery terminals will stop working for around 36 hours while systems are updated.
In a statement to shop owners this week, Andria Vidler, the chief executive of Allwyn UK, said: 'Technical switchover will happen over one weekend this summer, and to enable the new systems to go live, National Lottery terminals will be inactive for approximately 36 hours.'
Ms Vidler did not provide a date for the shutdown, but asked retailers for their 'help and diligence to ensure a seamless transition'.
It is understood that the upgrade will begin at about 11pm on a Saturday night to reduce disruption and loss of earnings. The National Lottery does not trade overnight and no draw-based games take place on a Sunday.
Allwyn has pledged to overhaul the National Lottery's estate of 43,500 terminals at a cost of £350m. The update is critical to the company's promise to double the lottery's contribution to good causes.
However, the IT upgrade has been plagued by difficulties and delays. Bosses are now racing to launch the new system amid pressure from the Gambling Commission.
The complex update was supposed to be in place when Allwyn took over the running of the National Lottery from Camelot in February last year. However, this was delayed after the existing provider, International Games Technology (IGT), challenged the move in the High Court.
The rollout has also been delayed by a separate legal challenge mounted by Richard Desmond, who is suing the Gambling Commission after missing out on the 10-year licence. He has argued the bidding process was unfair and is seeking £200m in damages.
The delays have fuelled concerns that Allwyn will fall short of its ambitious pledge to funnel more money to good causes.
The operator originally promised to increase its charitable donations from £17.9bn to £38bn over the course of the licence – equivalent to about £3.8bn a year. But it has now watered down these targets by pledging to double returns by the end of its licence, from £30m to £60m a week – or less than £3.2bn a year.
The Telegraph revealed earlier this year that the National Lottery is already facing a £2bn shortfall toward its charitable donation target in its maiden year.
This summer's outage, first reported by Better Retailing magazine, is also likely to spark concerns among shopkeepers who make commission by selling lottery tickets.
Andrew Goodacre, the chief executive of the British Independent Retailers Association, said: 'My opinion is that anything that disrupts the normal running of a shop is not welcome.
'We also have to hope that the proposed works go to plan and that any switch is restricted to 36 hours – I fear this may overrun. I would also like to think that the retailers would receive some form of compensation for lost business or inconvenience.'
A spokesman for Allwyn said: 'Allwyn is investing over £350m into improving the operations and technology of The National Lottery.
'This change is critical – it will give us the springboard from which we can continue to improve the player and retailer experience and enable us to deliver on our ambitious plans to double returns to good causes from £30m to £60m a week by the end of the licence.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
22 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Family faces shock £1,400 demand for meter switch-off or face having no heating
An energy firm tried to charge a Scots family £1,400 to change their meter before it is switched off this month, it has emerged. MSPs and consumer groups last night issued a warning to families that their energy supplier must pay the cost of replacing Radio Teleswitching Systems (RTS) meters. It follows revelations that a supplier tried to charge one Orkney household £1,400 to replace their meter, including £200 for a hotel booking, £382 for a ferry and £820 for a day's work. The supplier – which has not been named – only backtracked from forcing the family to pay when challenged by Liam McArthur, Liberal Democrat MSP for Orkney. It triggered a warning that customers should never pay for work which needs to take place before the RTS system is shut down at the end of this month. As of last month, 124,864 of the RTS meters still needed to be replaced in Scotland. Mr McArthur, said: 'I am deeply concerned to hear reports of some energy suppliers attempting to charge constituents to have their RTS meters replaced with smart meters. 'It is the obligation of suppliers to ensure customers have a working meter, and that there are no upfront costs for customers, including businesses, who pay for their meters through billing. 'Suppliers should also not be telling customers in places such as Orkney that they are required to cover costs related to accommodation or travel for engineers. This is simply not the case.' Mr McArthur said he contacted the supplier and it dropped the demand for payment. The RTS system – a feature of older electricity meters linked to heating and hot water usage – uses a longwave radio frequency to switch between peak and off-peak rates. But the technology is becoming obsolete and energy firms have a deadline to change customers' meters by June 30. It has led to concerns that some households could lose their heating and hot water if their meter is not replaced in time. Andrew Bartlett, chief executive of Advice Direct Scotland, which runs said: 'Suppliers should install smart meters at no cost. If that is not possible, they still have a duty to replace RTS meters with a suitable alternative, and customers should not be charged.' Advice Direct Scotland supported one customer who faced a £700 kitchen repair bill following a meter replacement, and another quoted £1,290 to move a fuse by an inch for a smart meter. Energy UK, which represents most suppliers but not the one responsible for imposing the £1,400 charge in Orkney, said: 'Customers should not expect to pay for an RTS meter replacement. We also urge customers to look out for scammers pretending to be suppliers.' A spokesman for Ofgem said: 'We will look into this and hold to account any supplier that breaches our rules.'
Telegraph
29 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Miliband's latest misstep will pile unnecessary costs upon developers
Ed Miliband's attempt to lead this country was resoundingly rejected at the ballot box in 2015. Given his influence within the present Government, he may have had the last laugh. The Energy Secretary appears to have emerged triumphant in a clash with embattled Chancellor Rachel Reeves, securing the future of a £13 billion funding allocation for insulating properties across Britain, and very possibly triggering further tax rises this autumn. Having secured access to the fruits of your wallet, Mr Miliband has now turned his sights to redefining British architecture. Under plans revealed today, developers will be forced to install solar panels in the 'vast majority' of new houses, and gas boilers will effectively be banned in newbuilds in favour of heat pumps. The Energy Secretary claims that the moves could save households £500 a year on their energy bills, but appears to have neglected to consider the likely effect on development costs. There are few objections to people choosing to install solar panels, or choosing to buy a house with a heat pump. That builders confronted with market demand are not already supplying them suggests, however, that any premium people are willing to pay for these features will not cover the costs of installing them. The last thing Britain's capacity constrained housing market needs is another effort to pile unnecessary costs upon developers. Measures to ease building are drastically needed. Regrettably, Mr Miliband seems to think otherwise.
Daily Mail
30 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
How far would you go to avoid your personal tax raid? This is Money Podcast
Tax is an increasingly taxing subject for many people who feel hard done by as Britain's complicated system catches them out. From quirks of the system, such as the 60 per cent tax trap and child benefit removal, to the childcare cliff edge, frozen thresholds, and pensions soon to be dragged into inheritance tax, there's a whole host of things to drive us mad. And, it's getting worse. The Tories and now Labour have both chosen to ratchet up the things that trip people up to raise money, rather than sort out a tax system that most economists say is a total mess. So how far would you go to avoid your personal tax raid? And is tax changing people's behaviour? Lee highlights how. On this podcast, Georgie Frost, Lee Boyce and Simon Lambert dive into how the British tax tail is wagging the dog. Plus, as the Switch 2 arrives and the video game industry goes from strength to strength, should you invest in video game firms? How much do you need for a comfortable retirement – and what does that get you? And finally, you put up an 8 foot fence for privacy, your neighbour has gone from non-plussed to threatening to call the council over a planning breach, what do you do? The team have some answers. And for all the listeners that Simon directed to the gem that is the comments section of the story, here's the link. Listen to the This is Money podcast We publish the podcast every Friday on This is Money and at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and more. Search for it at your favourite podcast platform. To download Apple Podcasts go to the App store. On Android devices, go to the Google Play store to download the podcast app of your choice. You can press play to listen to this week's full episode on the player above, and wherever you get your podcasts please subscribe and review us if you like the podcast. You can also listen to the latest episode, find the archive and join in the debate in reader comments on the This is Money podcast page.
