Lotto NZ swaps core gaming systems in EDGE rollout
Fri, 1st May 2026 (Yesterday)
Lotto New Zealand has replaced its core gaming systems with a new platform from Scientific Games, completing the first stage of its wider customer transformation programme.
The programme, known as EDGE, ran for 18 months and has been live since September 2025. Adaptiv served as integration partner, linking the new core platform to more than 60 APIs and 14 applications through MuleSoft and Azure.
The project connected existing Lotto NZ services, including the My Lotto app, to Scientific Games' back-end systems. It also introduced a new Azure setup to stream real-time events from Scientific Games into Databricks and other business applications used for analytics and operations.
The rollout also included new terminals and ticket checkers at more than 1,100 retail stores across New Zealand. Lotto NZ described the hardware change as a single nationwide "big bang" transformation.
The programme is central to Lotto NZ's 2029 vision for reshaping the customer experience across products including Lotto, Powerball and Instant Kiwi. With the system now in place, customers are using services tied to the integration between MuleSoft, Scientific Games and Lotto NZ's other back-end systems.
Work began in November 2023 and went live on 25 September 2025. The companies said Lotto NZ carried out six months of user acceptance testing on the integrations before launch.
Sarah Thirlwall, Chief Transformation and Technology Officer and EDGE Project Director at Lotto NZ, commented on the delivery of the programme.
"Every project this size has its challenges, and this was no different," Thirlwall said.
"90% of the time, the whole programme ran on track, and Adaptiv was one of those partners that worked really well within it."
The scale of the programme highlights the complexity of replacing gaming infrastructure while maintaining links to digital channels, retail systems and internal data tools. Lottery operators typically rely on a mix of legacy technology, customer applications and retail hardware, making core platform changes difficult to execute without disrupting sales or customer access.
For Lotto NZ, the move also reflects a broader trend among regulated gaming and lottery groups to modernise central systems while improving how data moves across the organisation. Real-time event streaming into analytics environments can help operators monitor transactions, customer interactions and system activity more quickly. Financial terms for the project were not disclosed.
Adaptiv, which provides data, integration and AI services across Australia and New Zealand, was selected to handle the programme's integration layer. Its remit covered the connections between Scientific Games' platform and Lotto NZ's wider technology environment, rather than the core gaming platform itself.
Next phase
With EDGE now in operation for more than six months, Lotto NZ has shifted its attention to the next stage of its 2029 programme, known as Project Frontier. That phase is intended to introduce new technology and features while replacing the current web and mobile app platforms.
These changes are aimed at improving the customer journey as Lotto NZ continues its broader overhaul of systems and channels. No timeline for the completion of Project Frontier was disclosed.
The successful launch of EDGE gives Lotto NZ a foundation for that work, covering the core gaming system, integration links, data flows and a nationwide refresh of retail hardware. It also completes one of the organisation's largest technology changes in recent years, spanning customer-facing channels, store equipment and internal systems.