This newly created role reflects Allwyn’s renewed focus on accelerating performance in its retail channel by ensuring growth, innovation, and execution remain tightly connected. All this while championing the vital role retailers play at the heart of communities across the UK’s high streets.

Bridget will take over from Jenny Blogg, Operations Director, who will leave the business in early spring to pursue an external opportunity.

Bringing over 25 years’ experience as a consumer-focused leader, Bridget is renowned for redefining customer experiences and pushing the boundaries of retail innovation. Her impressive career spans senior executive and board-level roles across Food, Clothing, Home, Telecoms, Technology, and Social Media, including positions at Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s, O2, BT Group, and most recently Snap.

With a passion for consumer engagement and a proven track record of driving digital transformation and omnichannel strategies, Bridget will spearhead initiatives to create relevant growth opportunities and strengthen partnerships with National Lottery retailers across the UK. These efforts will be central to the ongoing transformation of The National Lottery, which will gather momentum in 2026, enabling Allwyn to offer more engaging ways to play and raise even more money for Good Causes.

Reporting into Bridget in new roles will be Alison Acquaye-Acford (Retail Revenue & Customer Director), James Dunbar (Retail Strategy & Operations Director) and Emma Hubbard (Head of Retail Delivery).

Andria Vidler, CEO of Allwyn UK said: “We’re thrilled to welcome Bridget to Allwyn. Her extensive experience in retail innovation and digital transformation will be instrumental as we continue to transform this wonderful British institution and deliver even more for National Lottery Good Causes.

“Bridget’s leadership will help us provide an exceptional service to our 43,500 retail partners and millions of National Lottery players across the UK.

“We’d like to wish Jenny every success in her future endeavours and thank her for her significant contribution to Allwyn and The National Lottery during her time with us.”

Bridget Lea added: “I’m excited to join Allwyn at such a pivotal time for The National Lottery. Retailers play a vital role in communities nationwide, and I look forward to working with our partners to create modern, engaging experiences that delight players and support the ongoing transformation of The National Lottery.”

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The slogan, along with the giant gold hand, has not been seen on screens together for more than 26 years. They have been reimagined to reach new audiences to support the nation’s millionaire-making game, Lotto.

As The National Lottery’s flagship game, Lotto has created over 3,500 millionaires since the first draw in November 1994. Allwyn, the operator of The National Lottery, will be using the ad to showcase real people winning and support an optimistic nation that is longing for a bit of hope and ‘what if’ belief moments. The campaign features real Lotto millionaire winners from across the years in cameo roles declaring “We won, and you could too!”.

The winners include Sarah Cockings from Newcastle who won £3,045,705 at age 21. Also featured are Chris and Geraldine Bradley from South Wales who were part of a family syndicate with grandfather, Bob, and father, Barry, and shared a £3,570,063 win in 2006. The campaign also sees an appearance from Gary MacDonald, who drove a delivery van round Lakeside Shopping Centre in Essex before he scooped the £5,208,504 jackpot in April this year and took early retirement.

The campaign supports a study of more than 2,500 people by The National Lottery that Britons would like more hope in their lives and that we are, at heart, a nation of believers.  They have found that 98% of people say that as a nation we could all do with a bit of hope right now. A further 89% of Brits have their fingers crossed for something good to happen, with 41% hoping to win the Lotto.

Underlining how we are a nation of optimists, the majority of public (53%) consider themselves to be lucky, with 72% believing that being positive or hopeful can change the outcome of events. While 40% of the nation don’t believe they are lucky, 61% of people do feel most optimistic when they have something to look forward to.

Steve Parkinson, Brand & Marketing Director at Allwyn UK, operator of The National Lottery said: “The original tagline ‘It Could Be You’ has always struck a chord with our players and it has never left us. We know our players still use the phrase when they buy tickets and enter the draw and there is a great amount of nostalgia attached to it.

‘We are at heart a nation of optimists who want to imagine what might be possible’

“But there’s also a new generation of players that want those ‘what if’ magic moments that Lotto provides. People win Lotto week in, week out, and we all have a chance if we buy a ticket. We wanted to embrace that and involve some of the real winners from across the years to demonstrate that anyone can win.”

The ‘It Could Be You’ advertisement was used to launch the nation’s very first National Lottery game and the tagline became instantly recognisable. It was coupled with a giant pointing hand descending dramatically from the sky indicating that anyone could win.

“’It Could Be You’ confidently taps into The National Lottery’s history of changing lives, but it also comes at a moment where the British public have been telling us they’d love a bit of more hope in their life. We are at heart a nation of optimists who want to imagine what might be possible,” added Steve.

“’It Could Be You’ has always sparked people’s imaginations and underpinned the magic of winning. Since it started, Lotto has created over 3,500 millionaires and continues to offer huge jackpot prizes in every draw. We all hope and dream that it could be us one day and this campaign aims to get the nation talking about what they would do if it was them next!”

The advert was directed by celebrated commercial director Dave Meyers, who has also shot music videos for the likes of Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, Harry Styles, Kendrick Lemar, Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa and Megan Thee Stallion.

The advert was broadcast on TV first on Monday 1^st September with a peak Coronation Street slot. There is a new refreshed look and feel to the Lotto game. September’s Lotto Must Be Won event of a £15m jackpot on Saturday 13^th September is being supported by the new branding and is on the point of sale that is heading to retail stores from 1^st September.

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The rollout immediately follows the successful completion of its largest-ever technical upgrade since the inception of The National Lottery in 1994.

The Wave terminals contain state-of-the-art technology that benefits both retailers and National Lottery players. The sleek machines feature a high-speed processor that ensures faster transactions, a bigger and tilt-adjustable LCD screen, wireless 1D barcode and 2D code scanners, and a play slip reader that can be fed both horizontally and vertically.

They also provide retailers with more functionality, including enhanced reporting features and the ability to change numbers on National Lottery Fast Pay cards.

In the first half of 2025, around 8,000 retailers received their new Wave terminal – the majority of which were retailers which previously had Compact Lottery Terminals (CLTs). This was before The National Lottery technical upgrade that took place from 2^nd to 4^th August, as the CLTs worked on a different operating system from the one being installed across the entire UK network.

The early-August tech upgrades included the delivery of more than 30 new technology systems, a completely rebuilt back-end gaming platform, a new in-store network provided by Vodafone, and the migration of tens of thousands of retailer records and millions of transactions from legacy systems dating back to 2009.

With the conclusion of the largest and most complex lottery systems updates in history, a complete, national rollout of Wave terminals commenced on 11^th August to the remainder of the legacy Altura terminal estate. While these machines work with the upgraded software, Allwyn always planned to replace Alturas with Wave machines over the coming months, as most of the legacy terminals date back to 2009.

By the end of August, nearly 4,000 retailers will have their Altura replaced with a Wave terminal. From September, Allwyn is aiming to install thousands of Wave machines a week at National Lottery retailers in every postcode district of the UK.

Allwyn’s Director of Operations, Jenny Blogg said: “This is another massive undertaking from Allwyn as we deliver generational change to The National Lottery.

“We have invested more than £350 million in a comprehensive plan to transform The National Lottery, substantially improving its operations and technology. These will support exciting plans we have for new games, a better player experience, and a commitment to double returns to Good Causes from £30m to £60m every week by the end of our 10-year licence.

“Over the coming months, our team will be delivering and installing thousands of Wave machines every week. We understand the importance of this new technology in enhancing the in-store experience for both retailers and their customers. We are thrilled at the highly encouraging feedback we have received for the new Wave machines.”

National Lottery retailers from across the UK that have had their Alturas replaced with Wave machines have spoken positively about the new technology and the difference it is making to their businesses and customers.

Karen McDonnell, of Centra in Bangor said: “The new Wave terminal looks great, and I’m pleased with the fact that it seems to be much faster and quicker to respond. The new layout makes the Lucky Dip ticket transactions even quicker, and I really like the wireless scanner.”

Stephen Harrison of Nisa in Belfast added: “Having the new terminal in store has been amazing. It is so much more responsive and easier to use, which has been especially important to us as we recently had some PR around a millionaire made in store, so our store has been much busier selling those lucky tickets!”

Mandy Henry of Vivo in Belfast said: “I’m enjoying how our new Lottery terminal is high-speed and simple to use. I like the fact that you can see the transaction history, especially when scanning multiple winning Scratchcards. The design is also much more slimline and easier to keep clean.”

The post Allwyn begins scale rollout of over 30,000 new state-of the-art Wave Lottery terminals first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

Mr King invited retailers to a breakfast at the Titanic Hotel Belfast on Tuesday 4^th March to thank them for playing their part in raising huge sums for National Lottery Good Causes through selling National Lottery games over the past 30 years.

He said Allwyn planned to double weekly returns to Good Causes by telling The National Lottery story better, including the role that buying a ticket plays in funding local Good Cause projects.

This was followed by a lunchtime celebration with the First and Deputy First Ministers at Stormont of the £1.5 billion that has been distributed through National Lottery Good Causes funding in Northern Ireland – disbursed via The National Lottery Community Fund, The National Lottery Heritage Fund, Sport NI and Arts Council Northern Ireland.

While grassroots projects have been funded in every postcode district in Northern Ireland, some of the most notable projects to have benefited from the funding include the Giant’s Causeway – where £3 million in funding was used to build a Visitor Centre – and the Titanic Quarter in Belfast, which received £17 million of funding. The Titanic Hotel itself benefited from £5 million of such funding, bringing the previously vacant building back to life, providing jobs and boosting the tourism economy.

Going back to retail, Mr King said that The National Lottery was found to be a proven driver for increased footfall in stores – increasing further during special jackpot draws – and is the only large lottery sold on high streets. Most players claim their winnings in the same store they buy their tickets from and are likely to reinvest some of the winnings in stores, for example on wider groceries available in the store.

Shops stocking The National Lottery range from small corner shops to supermarkets, with independents making up the majority. The operator of The National Lottery has consistently championed independent retail in Northern Ireland and the role retailers play in their communities, including sponsoring Retail NI’s High Street Heroes Campaign since 2021.

Late last year, Allwyn also recognised McKees Convenience Store in Belfast as part of its Local Retail Champions campaign – which asked members of the public to nominate National Lottery retailers who go above and beyond to support their local community.

As the new operator of The National Lottery, Allwyn spent two days in Northern Ireland celebrating The National Lottery’s 30th Birthday. The group was led by CEO Andria Vidler and Chair Justin King CBE. During the visit, the pair repeated their pledge to double weekly returns to National Lottery Good Causes from £30 million to £60 million per week by the end of the 10-year licence in 2034.

The critical role of retail in Allwyn’s transformation plans for The National Lottery was also stressed, with new equipment being rolled out and increased in-person support. In Northern Ireland alone, the team on the ground supporting local retailers has grown by 25% since Allwyn took over in February 2024.

Justin King and Glyn Roberts, CEO of Retail NI who joined Allwyn for the retailer breakfast, thanked National Lottery retailers for their work over the last three decades, and also discussed how April’s tax rises will affect high street retailers.

“We have to tell the story of business better. Belfast was built on commerce and continues to thrive on commerce. Community entrepreneurs together can make that point powerfully,” said Mr King.

Read more about Justin King’s and Allwyn’s support of Northern Ireland retailers in an upcoming issue of Neighbourhood Retailer, as we feature an exclusive interview with Justin King CBE.

The post Allwyn thanks NI retailers for role in raising billions for National Lottery Good Causes first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

Allwyn announced that as part of its new Operation Guardian programme, they organised over 8200 mystery shopper visits last year to check retailers were challenging players who appeared under the age of 18.

The final results show that a record-breaking 92.3% of National Lottery retailers correctly asked for ID as proof of age on their first visit.

The visits are carried out by people who are over 18 – so as not to inadvertently cause a retailer to break the law – but who look younger. Retailers who sell to a mystery shopper on the first visit will be given additional training and subsequently re-visited. Retailers who sell on three separate occasions to mystery shoppers may have their Lottery terminal removed.

Allwyn introduced Operation Guardian in 2024, with the new programme building on and expanding previous mystery shopper and retail training initiatives to increase the levels of support for retailers – ultimately enabling them to sell National Lottery products even more safely.

In total, over 16,000 store visits were carried in 2024 out as part of Operation Guardian. In addition to the 8,200+ proof-of-age visits, Allwyn carried out 4,000 ‘excessive play’ visits to ensure stores could provide support information to players requesting help with their play if needed. Towards the end of the year, this also incorporated a smaller-scale mystery shop exercise for the new 10-Scratchcard per purchase limit, which Allwyn officially launched in October 2024.

ADDITIONAL TRAINING

The final part of Operation Guardian, a ‘knowledge check’, encompassed 4,000 visits which assessed store staff’s knowledge around preventing underage play and minimising excessive play. Retailers were tested using six core questions, and the 2024 results show that 85% of retailers answered five or more of the questions correctly.

Any retailer not passing one of the three parts making up Operation Guardian received additional training from Allwyn. This is further to the training they regularly receive either face-to-face via Allwyn’s increased retail sales team or through its new Retailer Training Centre. In 2024, Allwyn made over 130,000 face-to-face and phone contacts to support National Lottery retailers in selling The National Lottery responsibly.

Allwyn’s Director of Commercial Partnerships and Retail Sales, Alison Acquaye-Acford said: “A huge congratulations to our 40,000-plus National Lottery retailers for their commitment to selling The National Lottery responsibly and raising their standards to the highest levels ever seen.

“Participant protection is central to Allwyn’s plans for growing The National Lottery responsibly over the next decade and this is clear to see from the successful introductions of new training and initiatives in 2024, including Operation Guardian and the 10-Scratchcard limit.

“We’re delighted that our work in this area is already bearing fruit with these record-breaking figures. This is all down to the diligence of our retail partners, and I’d like to thank each and every one of them for their excellent work and dedication in this area.”

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