From fixing to building: Six months in and the future of lottery fundraising

By Tom Wright – IT Manager, StarVale

In May this year, I joined StarVale’s growing tech team as IT Manager, signalling how serious StarVale is about technology. As an External Lottery Manager (ELM), everything we deliver for our clients is embedded in our IT systems – from the web platforms our clients and their supporters rely on, to the servers and infrastructure that process the weekly lottery draws, monthly super draws, raffles, payments, and the certified random number generator (RNG). Everything systems – or technology-related, depends on my team’s support. Not only do these systems have to be reliable, but they must also meet strict regulations and standards set out by authorities such as the Gambling Commission, payment industry standards (PCI), and our ISO certifications.

Nearly six months in, I’m keen to share where we are, where we’re heading, and why I believe 2027 is going to be a defining year for technology at StarVale. My appointment is part of a much greater ambition: a business that keeps investing to be the leader in lottery management and services.

The first six months: listen, learn, map

The first months in any new role should be about listening, and I’ve done a lot of it. Working with the team, colleagues across the business, and our clients, we took the time to understand and align with our core values of taking ownership, and creating possibilities.

Improved visibility. We have greater awareness of what’s happening across the business, so issues surface early, rather than by surprise.

Built a clear map of our technology landscape. I have a better understanding of how our systems connect, their capability, and where investment is needed.

Set direction and priorities. We’ve agreed what matters most and in what order.

Listened to the business. Every department connects with IT in some way. Spending time with each team has given me a clear picture of what they need from the team to deliver business objectives.

Listened to our clients. We’ve met with a number of clients to understand what works well for them today and where we can improve the service we deliver.

I attended industry events. Being present at sector events helps to gain awareness of emerging trends and best practices, and is a great opportunity to connect with charity clients and meet prospective clients.

Not all of this is glamorous, but it’s the foundation everything else is built on. You can’t plan a journey until you know exactly where you’re standing.

From responding to resolving: StarVale’s focus is evolving

With that foundation established, we are expanding our focus from operational delivery to long-term planning and scale. Our priorities going forward focus on engineering out root causes before they impact service whilst innovating and driving growth:

1. A clear technology roadmap – so everyone in the business knows where we’re heading and why.
2. Fixing root causes, not symptoms – so time spent on repeat issues goes back into improvement.
3. Continued modernisation of our tech stack – replacing and upgrading systems to reflect a market leading ELM heading into 2027.
4. Delivering our web platform migration – as I’ll explain further down.
5. Closer collaboration between technology and the wider business – so we build what people need.
6. A sustainable delivery model that balances day-to-day support, maintenance and strategic projects – so none of them crowd out the others.

To guarantee consistent, high-quality execution, all projects will follow a structured management approach with explicit goals, clear accountability, and complete visual progress tracking. With full executive support and dedicated resourcing behind this initiative, our clients can expect seamless delivery.

Building the next generation of our web platforms

Our public websites are where our charity clients and their supporters meet us, so they need to be fast, secure and easy to evolve. That’s why in 2027 we will have a new lottery website platform, built on a single consistent foundation.

We’re delivering this at pace, and we’re using AI to help where it’s appropriate. For example, tools like Microsoft Copilot and Atlassian Rovo in our Jira environment already existed. The recent introduction of Claude by Anthropic is now part of how our developers analyse existing code, plan the migration and build new components. Our collaboration with AI does replace engineering judgement; it amplifies it. I want a well-managed team focused and able to move faster, test more thoroughly, and spend more of their time on design and quality.

Our aim is to deliver a platform that is more secure, easier to maintain, and seamlessly adaptable to our clients’ evolving needs and upcoming roadmap innovations. By January 2027, we will present a clear strategic roadmap for the future of our technology and client service delivery.

One team, not four

I’ve joined a great team: people who are open to new ideas and keen to keep improving. We have a healthy blend of steady hands who keep everything running, and big thinkers who push us to try new things. Both matter.

My aim, as one team, is for everyone to touch every part of our technology stack in some way, whether that’s infrastructure, support, development or data. Shared knowledge makes us more resilient, gives people room to grow, and means we solve problems together rather than passing them between silos. That’s the difference between one team and four mini-teams that happen to sit together.

I bring 20 years of working with clients to understand their needs and build solutions around them. At StarVale I’m applying the same approach: listen first, understand the real problem, then deliver something that lasts for both the business and our clients.

2027: A solid platform, and room for moonshots

2027 marks our full transition to modern platforms – a rock-solid foundation that eliminates maintenance drag and redirects our energy into continuous innovation.

When the tech stack is dependable, something powerful happens: the team gets time to think bigger. That’s when we can explore a few “moonshots”, the ambitious ideas that will change how we serve our clients and their supporters.

Technology sits at the heart of what StarVale offers. With well-run projects, fresh thinking and a focus on quality service, I’m confident we’ll be the most efficient, client centric and forward-looking teams in lottery management. I’m excited about what’s ahead, and I’ll share our progress along the way.

If you’d like more information about our technology road map, please contact our expert team today.