Sponge’s partnership with Allwyn celebrated with silver award at the Brandon Hall Group’s Technology Awards.

Developed for use by National Lottery retailers, the Retail Training Centre received recognition for its digital-first approach to securing compliance.

Bristol, UK 9th December. Bristol, UK 9th December. Sponge is proud to announce an award win for its client, Allwyn, in the recent Brandon Hall Group’s Excellence in Technology Awards.

The National Lottery Operator received a silver award in the ‘Best Advance in Learning Management Technology for Compliance Training’ category for its Retail Training Centre. Designed by Sponge, this solution supports compliance across Allwyn’s sizeable and diverse retail portfolio. Key differentiators include its focus on GDPR and ability to cater for retailers ranging from small independent stores to large multi-site operators.

Launched in February 2024, the Retail Training Centre boasts mobile-optimised content delivered via Sponge’s Spark LMS. It combines an intuitive interface to support users, advanced reporting and analytics, and the ability to scale to meet Allwyn’s future business needs. Having engaged with over 4,000 stores in its first month and received much positive learner feedback, the silver Brandon Hall award recognises the impact this solution is already having across Allwyn’s varied retail landscape.

Allwyn's win was announced on December 5, 2024, with the winners listed at https://excellenceawards.brandonhall.com/winners/

Describing the Retail Training Centre and the award win, Toby Freestone, Retail Enablement Manager at Allwyn, noted: “Receiving a silver award only 10 months after rolling out the solution is a major achievement and reflects a huge collaborative effort from both parties. The Retail Training Centre has allowed us to have in-the-moment reporting on retailer training, compliance, and potential areas of uncertainty. This award win acknowledges the hard work of all involved, as well as the solution’s immediate impact and securing of long-term compliance.”

Fran Campbell, Sponge’s Client Director, concurred: “The Retail Training Centre demonstrates Sponge at its best – a consultative approach, creative digital content, and LMS deployment, all tailor-made for the client and delivered at pace. To have come away with a silver award at this stage of the project lifecycle is an excellent achievement and reflects a partnership going from strength to strength.”

Finally, commenting on the awards themselves, Brandon Hall Group Chief Operating Officer Rachel Cooke, explained: "In our 31st year, the Excellence in Technology Awards continue to showcase the best innovations in learning, talent management, talent acquisition, HR, workforce management, and sales enablement technologies. We are proud to receive applications from a diverse range of organisations globally, reflecting the ever-evolving landscape of technology solutions.”

This win for Allwyn is the third time in as many years that Sponge has been recognised at the Brandon Hall Group’s Excellence in Technology Awards. It also marks the culmination of a highly successful awards year for the Bristol-based digital learning agency, following success at the Brandon Hall HCM program, and having reached the finals of the Learning Technology and LPI Learning Awards.

Excellence Award winners are scheduled to be honoured at Brandon Hall Group's HCM Excellence Conference, January 28-30, 2025, at the Hilton West Palm Beach, Florida. Select winners will also serve as presenters in breakout sessions, sharing their leading practices during the conference.

Learn more about the project in our case study.

About Brandon Hall:

Brandon Hall Group is the only professional development company that offers data, research, insights, and certification to Learning and Talent executives and organizations. The best minds in Human Capital Management (HCM) choose Brandon Hall Group to help them create future-proof employee development plans for the new era.

About Allwyn:

Allwyn is a leading multi-national lottery operator. Allwyn builds better lotteries that return more to good causes by focusing on innovation, technology, efficiency and safety across a growing casual gaming entertainment portfolio. The lottery-first approach of focusing on affordable recreational play has earned Allwyn leading market positions with trusted brands across Europe in Austria, Czech Republic, Greece and Cyprus, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States (Illinois). https://www.allwyn.com/