Allwyn Sets New Record as Revenues Double Due to Latest Acquisitions
Author:
Muhammad Gregory
Multinational lottery operator Allwyn has benefited hugely from the completion of its acquisition of Camelot Lottery Solutions earlier this year. The Czechia-based entity started off the year 2023 on the front foot, with its revenues up by 80 percent year-on-year (YoY) in the first quarter. Being one of the world’s most renowned lottery operators, Allwyn has consistently upgraded its services, leading to a massive increase in the company’s credibility worldwide. The Q2 and H1 2023 financial results have been impressive, with significant growth in revenue, adjusted EBITDA, and free cash flow generation. The company’s total revenue has more than doubled in the second quarter of this year as compared to last year, reaching €2 billion in three months for the first time in its history.
Allwyn posts record revenues after its acquisition of Camelot.
?Gabrielle Henderson/Unsplash
Allwyn, the multinational lottery operator, focuses on building better lotteries that return more to good causes by focusing on innovation, technology, efficiency, and safety. The company has a history of shared success benefiting players as well. It operates in several countries globally and has been involved in the national lottery in the Czech Republic since 2012, Opap in Greece since 2013, LottoItalia since 2016, and Austrian lottery brands since 2019. The Czechia company recently acquired Camelot Lottery Solutions in 2023, becoming the operator of the Illinois state lottery and acquiring iLottery technology and content. In December 2022, Allwyn agreed to acquire the Camelot Lottery Solutions unit of companies from the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board. The acquisition deal was finalized in January 2023. Camelot Lottery Solutions is the operator of the Illinois Lottery, through a private management agreement conducted through its Camelot Illinois LLC. Allwyn entered into an agreement to acquire the business in December 2022 and secured €335 million of accordion loan facilities with a syndicate of international banks to finance the acquisition.
Allwyn’s acquisition of Camelot Lottery Solutions has impacted the company in several ways. Firstly, the acquisition has allowed Allwyn to become the operator of the Illinois state lottery and acquire iLottery technology and content. Secondly, the acquisition gave Allwyn access to the UK Lottery operator’s earnings roughly a year before it surrendered control of the UK National Lottery. Thirdly, the acquisition has allowed Allwyn to expand its operations into the United States, which is an important part of Allwyn’s future growth story. Finally, the acquisition has helped Allwyn to achieve its goal of becoming the world’s first net-zero lottery company by 2030. The deal also impacted the lottery operator’s market share in the US positively. It allowed Allwyn to establish a strong presence in the US lottery market, which is one of the largest in the world. Allwyn is committed to becoming a leading global lottery operator, and the acquisition of Camelot Lottery Solutions has helped the company achieve this goal. The operator already had leading market shares in several countries around the world, including Austria, the Czech Republic, Greece, Cyprus, Italy, and the United Kingdom.
The operator completed the acquisition of Camelot UK in February this year, which has boosted its Q2 results, causing the revenue to shoot up to more than double that of the same period in 2022. The group’s revenue reached €2 billion in a quarter for the first time in its history, largely due to the new acquisitions. Its Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) went up by nearly 115% YoY to €1.96 billion. The revenue excluding the Camelot acquisitions was still up by 7.1% YoY, standing at €1.02 billion. Allwyn’s adjusted EBITDA in Q2 2023 was €381m, which is a 35% increase YoY from 2022. Camelot UK was responsible for almost half of the GGR in Q2 2023. The revenue from the UK region alone amounted to €980.3 million. Though the detailed financial report for Q2 and H1 2023 has not been published by the group yet, they did reveal that the adjusted free cash flow also went up by 31.5% YoY in the second quarter, reaching €362.8 million. The story for the H1 results is similar, with revenues nearly doubling at 98% YoY at €3.69 billion as compared to last year’s €1.87 billion. Overall, Allwyn’s H1 2023 financial results have demonstrated the positive impact of the Camelot acquisitions on the company’s growth and profitability.
CEO Robert Chvátal was happy with the results and praised his company’s growth.
“I am pleased to report that Allwyn delivered another quarter of strong growth, profitability, and strategic progress. We delivered organic revenue growth across markets and also saw a further step up in profit and free cash flow generation owing to this being the first full quarter of ownership of our recent acquisitions.”
Allwyn started 2023 strong
The positive impact of the Camelot acquisitions had already started to reflect at the beginning of the year as Allwyn recorded a massive YoY increase in its revenues in Q1 2023. Though the acquisition of Camelot was completed during Q1, the revenues rose by 80% YoY, reaching €1.65 billion. The two major acquisition announcements increased the brand value of Allwyn. The initiation of a full takeover of Camelot UK and Camelot Lottery Solutions (LS) Group was the highlight for the lottery operator in 2022. The announcements led to a significant increase in its earnings for the first quarter of this year.
The total revenue for the group increased from €914 million in Q1 2022, to €1.65 billion in the first quarter of this year. The net revenue also rose by 40% as compared to the previous year, going from €579.1 million to €811.2 million. The operating EBITDA also marked a massive increase, marking a 23% rise. It went up from €267.4 million in the first quarter of 2022 to €329.4 million this year. The adjusted EBITDA showed an increase of 28% YoY as it rose from €270 million to €346.7 million. The group’s adjusted free cash flow also increased by the same margin, going up from €251 million to €322 million. The GGR of the lottery operator was up by 81% in Q1 2023, as compared to the previous year, rising from €875.6 million to €1.59 billion.
Allwyn UK appoints new CEO
Allwyn UK prepares to take over from Camelot UK Lotteries Limited as the National Lottery Provider in the country from February 2024 after the license is handed over at the end of January 2024. Its mission is to increase the funds generated for Good Causes over the course of its ten-year license period as the UK’s National Lottery Operator. Effective October 1, 2023, Andria Vidler will take over from Robert Chvátal as the new CEO of Allwyn UK. Chvátal was appointed as the interim CEO for the division in January this year and will return his focus on his full-time responsibilities as the CEO of Allwyn group once Vidler takes over.
Vidler has vast experience and has previously held senior positions at companies such as EMI Music, Bauer Media, and most recently, 888 Holdings. She brings a wealth of experience in marketing, digital transformation, and customer engagement to her new role at Allwyn. The group has also announced several more changes to its UK leadership team, with Vidler at the helm to take over the National Lottery. Vidler’s experience and expertise are expected to be instrumental in driving Allwyn’s growth and success in the UK market.
