Allwyn’s 2Q26 revenue rises 27% to €1.25 billion, boosted by PrizePicks’ contribution

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2025/08/05: Sportradar posts ‘solid’ second quarter, Jefferies analyst says 2025/09/23: Allwyn International to acquire majority stake in PrizePicks 2025/01/07: Illinois lottery provider Allwyn acquires controlling interest in igaming developer Novibet 2026/05/03: PrizePicks partners with Arrow McLaren IndyCar team

The Backstory

PrizePicks turned a U.S. foothold into a growth engine

Allwyn’s second-quarter results show how quickly a targeted U.S. acquisition can reshape the profile of a lottery-led gaming group. The company’s 27% increase in net revenue to €1.25 billion was not simply a function of broader market growth. It reflected the first meaningful consolidation of PrizePicks, the daily fantasy sports operator that has become Allwyn’s most important North American asset.

The path to that contribution began when Allwyn International agreed to acquire a majority stake in PrizePicks, taking about 62.3% of the Atlanta-based company. The deal carried an expected initial cash consideration of $1.6 billion, with selling shareholders eligible for up to $1 billion more in 2029 if performance targets are met for 2026 through 2028. That structure gave Allwyn exposure to a fast-growing U.S. product category while keeping existing PrizePicks management and minority owners tied to the platform’s longer-term performance.

Allwyn framed the acquisition as a way to move beyond its existing U.S. lottery presence and into sports and entertainment. PrizePicks brought a large user base across more than 45 U.S. jurisdictions, a simple prediction-based fantasy sports model and a brand already positioned around casual fan engagement. In the latest quarter, that bet showed up directly in the numbers: North America net revenue rose to €294 million from €54 million a year earlier, with the daily fantasy sports segment producing €231 million.

A lottery group has been buying digital reach

Allwyn’s interest in PrizePicks was not an isolated shift. It followed a broader move to add digital products, proprietary technology and consumer-facing gaming assets to a business historically anchored in national and regional lotteries. The company has maintained lottery operations in markets including the U.K., Austria, the Czech Republic, Greece, Cyprus and Italy, but its recent acquisitions point to a strategy of building a wider gaming platform.

That direction was clear when Allwyn agreed to acquire a controlling interest in Novibet, the online sportsbook and gaming operator behind LogFlex MT Holding Ltd. The 51% stake was priced at an initial €217 million, with an additional €110 million tied to performance. Novibet gave Allwyn a sportsbook and iGaming technology business with international ambitions, including activity in Mexico and a previously announced partnership with Caesars Entertainment in New Jersey that had not yet produced a launch.

The Novibet deal helped clarify Allwyn’s acquisition logic. Rather than rely only on lottery licenses and retail distribution, the company has been adding businesses with digital customer relationships and product development capacity. PrizePicks extended that logic into the U.S. sports ecosystem, where daily fantasy sports can operate in jurisdictions that may be harder or slower for online sports betting and casino operators to enter. The result is a portfolio that spans lower-volatility lottery operations, online gaming, sports betting and fantasy contests.

North America has become more than an Illinois beachhead

Allwyn entered North America by acquiring Camelot Lottery Solutions in 2023 and later rebranding the business as Allwyn North America. That gave the company an operating base in the region, including its role with the Illinois Lottery. At the time, management described North America as a market with strong growth potential. The latest results indicate that the company has moved from establishing a regional presence to pursuing scale across several gaming verticals.

Lottery remains part of that buildout. Allwyn North America’s launch of instant games with the DC Lottery showed how the company is using its European digital lottery experience in U.S. markets. The deal made Allwyn’s catalog of 300 games available to Washington, D.C., players through Instant Win Gaming’s remote game server infrastructure. The first title, Super Cash Bolt, was adapted for the local market and drew on a game family already used by European lottery operators.

That lottery expansion matters because it provides a regulated, government-linked foundation for Allwyn’s U.S. ambitions. But the financial effect of PrizePicks suggests that faster growth is likely to come from consumer gaming products that can scale nationally. PrizePicks’ contribution in the quarter dwarfed the year-earlier North American revenue base, turning the region into a significant part of Allwyn’s consolidated performance. The company’s challenge now is to sustain that momentum while managing regulatory scrutiny around fantasy sports, prediction-style products and the boundaries between DFS and wagering.

Fan engagement is becoming the acquisition battleground

Allwyn’s investment in PrizePicks also fits a wider market shift: gaming companies and sports technology groups are paying for direct access to sports fans before, during and after games. The value is not only in accepting wagers or contest entries. It is in owning the customer relationship, gathering engagement data and converting fan attention into recurring revenue.

PrizePicks has been moving aggressively in that direction through sports partnerships. Its partnership with Arrow McLaren’s IndyCar team put the brand on the No. 31 Chevrolet entry for the Indianapolis 500 and across McLaren Racing assets during the 2026 season. The deal followed PrizePicks’ designation as an official partner of the NBA, reinforcing its strategy of embedding the fantasy sports brand into mainstream professional sports rather than operating only as a digital contest platform.

Other companies are following similar logic, though with different assets. Genius Sports’ agreement to acquire Legend, a digital sports and gaming media network, illustrated the premium being placed on audience ownership and monetization. That transaction, valued at up to $1.2 billion, was designed to combine sports data, media inventory and betting-related marketing technology. For Allwyn, PrizePicks offers a more product-led version of the same thesis: build frequent fan interactions around player performance and use those interactions to deepen loyalty.

The financial upside comes with integration tests

PrizePicks has already changed Allwyn’s reported growth trajectory, but the next phase will depend on execution. Allwyn has kept PrizePicks as a standalone brand led by its existing team, a structure meant to preserve the culture and speed that helped the company scale. That approach reduces some integration risk, but it also requires Allwyn to balance autonomy with oversight as PrizePicks expands product features and enters new forms of fan engagement.

The second-quarter figures offered mixed signals beneath the headline growth. PrizePicks’ standalone net revenue rose 3% year over year on a constant currency basis, while its consolidation drove the large step change in Allwyn’s North American revenue. That means future comparisons will become more demanding once the acquisition is fully embedded in prior-year numbers. The company’s maintained guidance for mid-to-high 20% net revenue growth and an adjusted EBITDA margin of about 37% suggests management expects PrizePicks and other digital assets to contribute without materially diluting profitability.

The stakes are strategic as well as financial. Lottery revenue declined 2% in the quarter, while sports betting and online gambling grew 12% and 24%, respectively. That contrast underscores why Allwyn has been widening its portfolio. Mature lottery markets can provide cash flow and regulatory credibility, but digital sports and gaming products offer faster growth and younger audiences. The PrizePicks deal is therefore not just an earnings boost. It is a test of whether a European lottery operator can use acquisitions to become a broader global gaming and entertainment company.