Allwyn backs Phil Walker as UK National Lottery CEO despite MP criticism and weaker FY26 revenue outlook

Allwyn has backed Phil Walker as the new CEO of its UK business even as MPs question his appointment over his 2024 sanction at William Hill. The timing matters for payments and gambling operators because Allwyn is still digesting a major retail and digital cutover while warning that UK FY26 revenue will miss initial expectations.

1. Allwyn CEO Robert Chvátal called Walker the “right leader” for the next phase of the UK business during the company’s post-Q2 earnings call on Thursday. He said Walker knows the UK market and the digital landscape, and would lead the business after Allwyn completed what Chvátal described as one of the biggest retail and digital cutovers in the industry.
2. Allwyn UK announced last week that Andria Vidler was leaving, with Walker set to replace her imminently until a permanent successor is found. The Guardian then reported that MPs Dawn Butler and Sir Iain Duncan Smith wrote to the Gambling Commission raising concerns about the appointment.
3. The MPs’ letter pointed to a Gambling Commission sanction against Walker over “widespread and alarming” anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing failures at William Hill in 2024. Walker received a formal warning in May that year after the regulator found he had failed to take all reasonable steps to ensure several William Hill businesses complied with their licence conditions.
4. In its Q2 update, Allwyn said UK net revenue rose 2% to €236 million ($274.8 million), while adjusted EBITDA increased from €6 million to €23 million after the National Lottery technology transformation was completed. The company also said UK revenue for FY26 is expected to fall short of initial expectations, even though it remains confident in the market and focused on restoring growth.
5. Chvátal said the tech overhaul created a “platform for future growth” and noted Allwyn has started adding innovation to the existing Lotto business and launching a new game called Powerball. He also said the UK market has not stood still and now faces a range of lottery-like prize draws, which is the kind of competition operators and their payment partners tend to feel in the numbers before anyone starts talking about strategy decks.

For high-risk PSPs and acquirers, the useful read-through is simple: the UK lottery business is still in transition, regulator scrutiny is live, and Allwyn is already flagging a softer revenue path for FY26. That combination usually means more attention on partner controls, compliance history, and how cleanly a large-scale cutover actually settles into steady-state operations.