Kenneth Morton, Group Chief Financial Officer of Allwyn International, is adamant that the company’s track record on cash generation cannot be matched by competitors after the closure of the OPAP merger this week.

The management of Allwyn International believes that it has crafted the strongest investment case in global gambling, following its transformation into a publicly listed company through its integration with OPAP.

By market close on Tuesday 24 March, Allwyn was trading as the world’s second-largest lotteries and gaming company, cementing its position among the top tier of listed gambling operators.

The transaction will unite Allwyn International with OPAP, the long-standing steward of the Greek national lottery and retail betting franchise – marking the culmination of a six-month strategic effort to reshape the group’s financial and corporate identity.

Creating value in a new-look Allwyn

At its core, the new Allwyn profile is defined by cash generation, scale and consistency, while reinforcing its status as one of the largest contributors to good causes across its markets.

However, for Group CFO, Kenneth Morton, who spoke exclusively to SBC News following closure of the merger, the story extends well beyond scale to one of trust, differentiation and sustainable value creation.

“We’re not new to this market,” Morton said, pointing to Allwyn’s historic partnership with Athens-listed OPAP. “OPAP investors already know what we’ve done. Total shareholder returns have exceeded 500% since 2013.”

He added that this performance has been driven by disciplined execution, including the doubling of OPAP’s EBITDA over the past five years. 

Crucially, that track record has translated into strong investor confidence in the newly combined entity, with more than 93% of OPAP shareholders remaining invested.

“We’ve made them a lot of money – and that credibility matters as we tell the Allwyn story globally,” he noted.

Redefining lottery

Morton has positioned Allwyn as a distinct outlier among other listed gambling companies. 

From its origins in the Czech Republic with SAZKA, the group has evolved into what he describes as a unique entity within the sector – one that has effectively created a new category of operator by scaling and modernising the lottery model across multiple jurisdictions.

“What we have is a pretty differentiated business,” he said. “We’ve built something that didn’t really exist before – a scaled, lottery-led platform.”

This differentiation is rooted in a combination of retail strength, digital capability, proprietary technology and increasing content integration. All of this aims to extend the relevance of lotteries within a modern entertainment landscape.

A central pillar of Allwyn’s investment case is its ability to deliver both growth and shareholder returns – a balance that Morton argued is unmatched in the sector.

He continued: “Since 2019, we’ve pretty much tripled the size of the business across every metric. At the same time, we’ve generated a lot of cash and paid significant dividends.”

For Morton, this dual performance underpins Allwyn’s appeal in equity markets: “That’s a really compelling and attractive proposition.”

In his conversation with SBC, he described the company as a rare example of a gaming business that is capable of scaling, while also maintaining financial discipline and delivering consistent returns.

Diversification is strength

Diversification is another defining strength of Allwyn’s new PLC profile, particularly in the context of uncertain and cyclical market conditions.

“If you look at gaming stocks, we’re one of the most diversified,” Morton said. “That’s a big positive – both from a downside perspective and in terms of growth optionality.”

Unlike operators heavily exposed to single markets or product verticals, Allwyn’s multi-market, multi-channel structure provides a more resilient earnings base while offering flexibility to pursue new growth opportunities.

A new-look Allwyn

Looking ahead, the company’s ambitions extend well beyond Europe. While OPAP and other continental assets provide a strong foundation, Morton identified North America as a key strategic frontier for the operator, alongside emerging opportunities in South America.

He explained: “There are increasingly returns to scale in gaming. You’re no longer just competing with other betting operators – you’re competing for consumers’ time and money against global entertainment.”

In this environment, success depends on scale, technology, content and brand – areas where Allwyn is confident that it has already established a meaningful competitive advantage.

Despite the scale of the merger, Morton was clear that the company’s leadership views the transaction not as an endpoint, but as the beginning of a new phase.

“This is probably the most exciting transaction we’ve done,” he said. “It puts us at a really exciting point in the development of the group.”

Allwyn’s focus shifts to executing its next stage of growth. 

“We’ve built a strong base,” Morton concluded. “Now it’s about taking the business to the next level.”