Allwyn’s total revenue rose 97.5% to 7.87 billion euros (£6.75 billion/US$8.53 billion) in 2023, in a year boosted by the acquisition of its US and UK businesses by Camelot and the preparations for the takeover of the UK National Lottery.

Allwyn – formerly Sazka – was officially awarded its fourth national lottery license in September 2022 following a tender process that also included The New Lottery Company, Sisal and Camelot. The company began operating the UK’s National Lottery last month and will continue to do so for the next decade.

The announcement that Allwyn was the preferred applicant for the license sparked anger at Camelot and International Game Technology (IGT). Both appealed the decision to the Supreme Court – ultimately Camelot’s judgment was thrown out and IGT’s judgment was dismissed.

Just three days into January 2023, Allwyn confirmed that it would acquire Camelot’s US business, Camelot Lottery Solutions (Camelot LS). The acquisition was completed in March and terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Camelot LS was later renamed Allwyn North America. This came after Allwyn agreed to acquire Camelot UK in November 2022.

Gross gaming revenue also skyrocketed in the fiscal year

Allwyn CEO Robert Chvatal said 2023 will be a year of executing Allwyn’s inorganic growth strategy.

“I am pleased to report that 2023 was another year of strong financial and operational performance and strategic progress,” said Chvatal. “We have continued to successfully execute on our growth strategies while maintaining our relentless focus on safer gaming and accountability to all our stakeholders.

“2023 was another year of execution of our strategy with the acquisitions of Camelot UK and Allwyn LS Group, as well as a further increase in our share of OPAP in our Greece and Cyprus segment,” he continued. “Through our inorganic growth strategy, we are continuing to expand our presence and capacities.”

Gross gaming revenue (GGR) accounted for 7.54 billion euros of total revenue in 2023, an increase of 98.0% compared to the previous year.

Allwyn also provided financial data based on excluding the Camelot acquisitions in 2022 and 2023. Without this consideration, sales in 2023 would have been 4.24 billion euros, an increase of 6.4% compared to FY22. The GGR would have totaled 4.07 billion euros, which corresponds to an increase of 6.8%.

Growth across the board in 2023

In terms of Allwyn’s geographical performance, Allwyn performed best in the United Kingdom in 2023 with sales of €3.92 billion. However, this represented an annual decline of 3.9%. The company attributed this in part to limited opportunities for product and channel growth near the end of its previous license. Sales in Greece and Cyprus amounted to 2.18 billion euros, an increase of 7.0%, supported by positive business operations in the igaming sector.

Sales in Italy increased by 2.3% to 2.29 billion euros and Austrian sales amounted to 1.53 billion euros. Meanwhile, revenue generated in the Czech Republic rose 10.2% to €519.3 million, which Allwyn said was driven by strong performance in numerical lotteries, instant lotteries and igaming. Overall, these markets achieved net sales of 3.58 billion euros, an increase of 41.7%.

Operating EBITDA rose by 17.8% to €1.33 billion. Taking into account EBITDA adjustments of €150.4 million, adjusted EBITDA totaled €1.48 billion, representing growth of 27.1%. At the end of the year, Allwyn had adjusted free cash flow of 1.38 billion euros.

Returning to Allwyn’s 2023 performance excluding the Camelot acquisitions, net sales are calculated at €2.70 billion, up 7.0% year-on-year. Operating EBITDA would have been 1.15 billion euros, while total adjusted EBITDA would have reached 1.31 billion euros.

The fourth quarter performance seals a successful year

Regarding Allwyn’s fourth quarter performance, revenue for the quarter was 2.17 billion euros, an increase of 96.5%. This also accounted for 27.6% of the year’s total sales. The GGR amounted to 2.07 billion euros, an increase of 96.7% and accounting for 95.4% of the annual turnover.

Net sales increased by 29.5% to €987.8 million in the quarter. Operating EBITDA amounted to €336.8 million and adjusted EBITDA amounted to €388.5 million.

For Allwyn’s geographic segments, total sales in Austria fell 1.4% to €397.1 million in the fourth quarter. Allwyn attributed this to weaker results in its numerical lotteries. However, net sales rose slightly by 1.1% to €215.2 million.

Sales in the Czech Republic rose 9.0% to €144.6 million, supported by “significantly lower” marketing spend. Meanwhile, the 6.9% growth in Greece and Cyprus was driven by continued improvement in Allwyn’s customer offering. Q4 UK sales fell 1.9% to €975.3m, reflecting gross growth rates only.