Incoming National Lottery firm says plans for new games delayed until 2025

But Allwyn’s UK boss Andria Vidler told the PA news agency that the group will not be able to make any of the bigger changes it had pledged to introduce until next year.

The group said that delays to the new games it had hoped to introduce in 2024 will impact sales and hold back the amount of money it can give to good causes in the early part of its 10-year licence.

Ms Vidler, who took the helm at Allwyn’s UK business last October, said the group is trying to ensure that money for good causes will not go “backwards” this year, but that this funding is directly affected by sales growth.

She said players would not notice any “Big Bang changes” from day one, adding that the delays to new games were a “consequence of the legal issues”.

Allwyn agreed to extend the contract for existing technology supplier International Games Technology (IGT) after delays to a planned switchover to a new technology provider.

IGT challenged the Gambling Commission’s decision to award Allwyn the licence in court, but later dropped the legal action.

There was also an intense legal battle with Camelot over the commission’s decision to award the licence to Allwyn, which was finally settled in February last year when Allwyn bought Camelot.

Ms Vidler told PA: “Until all of these big challenges were resolved, we couldn’t get going.

"The challenges delayed the final award of the licence to Allwyn, which shortened the transition period.”

The handover marks the first time the lottery has changed hands since it was launched nearly 30 years ago, as Allwyn takes control of the UK’s largest distributor of charity funds.

In its winning bid, Allwyn vowed to revamp the lottery with new games and draws, increase sales and money for good causes and to double this funding by the end of the 10-year licence.

Ms Vidler said the firm was still committed to its long-term goal to double money for good causes, but that it was set to fall short of early years targets.

Its original promise to halve the price of a lottery ticket from £2 to £1 is also under review.

On the delays to its plans, Ms Vidler said: “Of course, Allwyn as a group is disappointed.

"There’s been a lot of frustration with constant delays, but collectively we have got 10 years, it’s not something that will happen week one or day one.”

Ms Vidler, a former boss of music label EMI in the UK and Ireland and an ex-board director at William Hill owner 888, said players would see gradual changes put in place over the next year, including new scratch cards.

It will also introduce limits on how many scratch cards can be bought in shops and online from next month.