Allwyn’s operation of the UK National Lottery faces a new public value review. The National Audit Office opened its study on October 15, 2026. It will examine how the Gambling Commission and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport designed, awarded and oversee the Fourth National Lottery licence.

The review will test whether the licence is delivering the long-term public value expected from Britain’s biggest lottery operation.

What the National Audit Office will examine

The National Audit Office says its value-for-money review will cover three stages:

  • How the Gambling Commission and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport designed and awarded the Fourth Licence.
  • How the transition from Camelot to Allwyn was managed.
  • Whether regulators have applied the right lessons during the licence period, which runs through January 2034.

The study is not a finding of wrongdoing. It will not cancel or reopen Allwyn’s licence. The National Audit Office expects to publish its report in spring 2027.

A major change for Britain’s lottery

The Gambling Commission awarded Allwyn Entertainment Limited a 10-year licence starting on February 1, 2024. It runs until January 2034.

It was the first change of National Lottery operator since the lottery began in 1994. Allwyn took over from Camelot under a new licence model designed to give the operator more flexibility to develop products and services.

The Fourth Licence also links Allwyn’s financial incentives more closely to returns for good causes. That makes the review relevant to communities that receive lottery funding for sport, arts, heritage and local projects.

The Gambling Commission’s statutory duties include ensuring that the National Lottery is run with due propriety, protecting participants and, subject to those duties, securing the greatest possible net proceeds for good causes.

Why the timing matters

The review comes during the early years of a licence designed to last a decade. Its findings could influence how the Gambling Commission measures Allwyn’s performance, how the Department for Culture, Media and Sport oversees the arrangement and how future lottery competitions are structured.

For now, Allwyn remains the licensed operator. Lotto, EuroMillions, Thunderball, Scratchcards and Set For Life continue under the current licence framework.

The practical question is whether the new model is producing the public returns promised when the licence was awarded. The National Audit Office’s 2027 report is expected to provide the first broad independent assessment of that transition.