Allwyn Net Revenue Surges 27% as PrizePicks Drives Q2 Growth

Kyle Kevin

iGaming Writer

Fact Checked

Allwyn net revenue surged 27% to €1.25 billion in Q2, with PrizePicks delivering a fivefold revenue jump in North America. The lottery giant is now the world’s second-largest listed gaming company, but a UK leadership change and rising debt signal the next chapter won’t come easy.

Allwyn net revenue surged 27% year-on-year to €1.25 billion in Q2 2026, the company reported on 27 August. Adjusted EBITDA climbed 29% to €458 million, with margin expanding 0.5 percentage points to 36.8%. The headline numbers look spectacular. However, strip out the PrizePicks acquisition and the Austrian gaming tax headwind, and organic net revenue growth slows to 5%. That is still solid. It is also the same pace Allwyn clocked in Q1. So the underlying business is stable, not accelerating. The PrizePicks deal, closed in January, is doing the heavy lifting. North American net revenue rocketed from €54 million to €294 million. On a standalone basis, PrizePicks net revenue grew 3% in constant currency. Amounts staked jumped 35% year-on-year. The active player base swelled 18%. PrizePicks also logged over 25 million player line-ups around the FIFA World Cup in June and July. The company poured an extra €25 million into marketing to capture that demand. That investment dented North American EBITDA, which came in at €104 million versus a tiny €9 million in the prior-year quarter. The comparison is distorted by consolidation timing. What matters is the trajectory: PrizePicks exited Q2 with record new player acquisition and a significantly larger engaged base heading into the NFL season. Allwyn is betting that the second half, when American football, basketball, and hockey seasons overlap, will convert that engagement into revenue.

The PrizePicks Effect on Allwyn Net Revenue

PrizePicks is reshaping Allwyn’s revenue profile in real time. The DFS operator contributed the bulk of North America’s €294 million in Q2 net revenue, up from just €54 million a year earlier. On a constant-currency basis, the North America segment grew 6% year-on-year even on a 100% pro-forma basis, meaning PrizePicks would have been included in both periods. That suggests the underlying business, including the Illinois Lottery private management agreement and IWG instant-win games, is also expanding. PrizePicks standalone net revenue rose 3% in constant currency. That modest figure masks stronger operational momentum. Amounts staked surged 35% year-on-year. Average DFS entry fees per player grew double-digits. Prediction market volumes spiked more than 30% quarter-on-quarter. The gap between staking growth and revenue growth reflects exceptionally operator-friendly sports outcomes in the prior-year comparative. When hold normalises, the revenue should follow. Allwyn is pushing product innovation aggressively. Players can now blend PlayerPicks with TeamPicks in a single line-up. The platform integrates prediction markets alongside traditional DFS. More enhanced features are scheduled ahead of the NFL kickoff in September. CEO Robert Chvátal called the product pipeline the fastest in PrizePicks’ history. The company also settled the final IWG earnout for $70 million (€60 million) in April, closing that chapter. In June, Illinois enacted legislation enabling a potential three-year extension of the state’s lottery private management agreement through October 2030, subject to commercial terms. That contract underpins a meaningful slice of Allwyn’s North American recurring revenue.

Regional Performance: Europe Steady, UK Soft

Continental Europe remains Allwyn’s revenue engine. The region delivered €731 million in Q2 net revenue, up 4% year-on-year. Strip out the Austrian gaming tax increase that took effect last July, and growth accelerates to 6%. That is the final quarter the tax hike will distort year-on-year comparisons. From Q3 onward, the comparable base normalises. The underlying trend looks healthy across Austria, the Czech Republic, and Greece via OPAP. Allwyn launched new or enhanced draw-based lottery games in all three markets during the quarter. In the UK, the picture is more mixed. Net revenue edged up just 2% to €236 million. Jackpot cycles in the prior-year period created a tough comparable. The digital re-platforming of the National Lottery, completed in Q1, also caused some transitional friction. However, profitability tells a different story. UK adjusted EBITDA quadrupled from €6 million to €23 million. The technology transformation is now paying back. Allwyn became the first operator outside the US to offer Powerball, one of the world’s largest jackpot games. That launch, plus the updated Lotto game unveiled earlier this year, should drive stronger UK numbers in the second half. Lottery revenue across the group fell 2% to €498 million, again due to favourable jackpot cycles in the prior year. Sports betting and iGaming more than compensated. Sports betting net revenue jumped 12%, fuelled by World Cup activity. iGaming surged 24%. Betano, Allwyn’s equity-method investee, grew total revenue 26% in constant currency to €972 million, with operating EBITDA up 24% to €257 million. Allwyn’s share of Betano net income dipped 3% to €61 million, reflecting below-EBITDA timing items in both periods. Following Q2, Allwyn agreed to increase its stake in Next Lotto, a licensed online reseller of German state lottery games, to roughly 65%, securing control.

UK Leadership Shake-Up and What It Means

Allwyn UK CEO Andria Vidler will step down on 7 September 2026. Industry veteran Phil Walker takes over as interim chief executive on the same date. The transition comes at a sensitive moment. Allwyn UK has just finished the most expensive technology overhaul in National Lottery history. The platform is now live. The focus must shift from transformation to growth. Walker has deep experience in UK lottery and gaming. Sources close to the company say his appointment is designed to stabilise operations while the board searches for a permanent replacement. Walker himself called the National Lottery a “vital national institution” and said he was proud to join at this stage of its growth journey. The timing is not accidental. Allwyn took over the UK National Lottery licence in February 2024. The first 18 months were dominated by migration, re-platforming, and regulatory scrutiny. Now the infrastructure is in place. Powerball is live. New draw games are rolling out. The challenge is converting those product investments into ticket sales and player engagement. Vidler led the company through the most turbulent phase. Walker, or his permanent successor, must prove the business can grow from here. The UK accounts for roughly 19% of group net revenue. It is not Allwyn’s biggest region, but it is the most politically exposed. Any stumble in UK lottery performance draws parliamentary and media attention. Walker will need to demonstrate that the technology spend was worth it.

Debt, Dividends, and the FY26 Outlook

Allwyn’s balance sheet is expanding with its ambition. Net debt including leases reached €6.66 billion at 30 June, representing 3.5x last-twelve-months adjusted EBITDA on a pro-forma basis. That is manageable for a company of this scale, but it is not light. The debt pile grew primarily from the PrizePicks acquisition, the LottoItalia licence renewal capital contribution, and foreign exchange headwinds. Allwyn had €1.11 billion in undrawn committed facilities as of quarter-end, providing liquidity cushion. The company is simultaneously returning cash to shareholders at pace. Allwyn declared an interim distribution of €0.20 per share for FY26. Combined with the share buyback, total capital returns hit €1.19 per share for calendar year 2026. The board approved a €150 million share buyback programme in June. By quarter-end, Allwyn had already repurchased €31 million worth of shares. Chvátal said the company remains committed to “attractive cash returns to shareholders in parallel with investment in growth.” That dual mandate — growth spending plus shareholder returns — is sustainable only if the underlying business keeps generating cash. Operating cash flow before working capital changes was €411 million in Q2, up from €359 million a year earlier. Free cash flow surged to €398 million from just €23 million, though the prior-year figure was depressed by licence payments. Allwyn reaffirmed its FY26 outlook: mid-to-high 20% net revenue growth before roughly €60 million in one-off impacts, and an adjusted EBITDA margin of approximately 37%. The company also completed the final steps of combining Allwyn International and OPAP during the quarter, a process that began with the OPAP acquisition and has now created what Allwyn claims is the world’s second-largest listed gaming entertainment company. For ongoing coverage of European operator earnings, AGBrief tracks the sector closely.

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