How National Lottery switched from SharePoint to Optimy
National Lottery (Loterie Nationale)
The Belgian National Lottery was established in 1934 with the mission of organising public lotteries, betting, competitions, and games of chance in the public interest. Through the contributions of millions of players, the Lottery rewards winners and contributes to various social projects and charitable causes. With an annual charity budget of €345 million directed at Culture, Sports, Sciences, Poverty reduction, and Sustainable development, the Lottery manages a large and complex sponsorship and grant portfolio — partially under Government oversight and subject to strict regulatory controls.
country: Belgium | annual budget: €345 million | projects managed: 15,000+ since go-live
A SharePoint-based system unable to meet regulatory and operational demands
The previous SharePoint-based system was deeply embedded in the Lottery's federal structure but fell short of the flexibility and compliance requirements needed. Managing hundreds of projects annually with a backend that couldn't adapt to strict governmental controls was unsustainable.
- SharePoint backend insufficient for strict regulatory and federal compliance requirements
- 100+ projects managed annually across five charitable areas with no unified tool
- Administrative tasks still managed in old backend, creating duplication and complexity
- Need to migrate nearly 30 years of project history to a new compliant system
A phased migration — from front-end to full compliance backend
The transition to Optimy was executed in two deliberate stages. First, Optimy's user-friendly front-end was deployed to gather grant applications. Then, over nearly a year, a custom backend tool was developed to comply with State regulations — and the 30-year database was fully migrated.
- Phase 1: Digital application intake: Optimy's front-end deployed to collect grant applications digitally, replacing the legacy process immediately.
- Phase 2: Custom regulatory backend: A bespoke backend built in close collaboration with the Lottery team over ~12 months to fully comply with governmental controls.
- 30-year database migration: Nearly three decades of project history successfully migrated — preserving institutional memory without data loss.
- Committee validation & evaluation module: External committee validations managed transparently in Optimy; internal projects handled through the platform's evaluation module.
15,000+ projects managed — and growing
Since going live fully in 2023, the National Lottery has seen a significant increase in project volume compared to the SharePoint era. The platform now serves as the central hub for all sponsorship and grant management activities, with transparency, traceability, and compliance built in from the ground up.
€345M annual budget
Charity grants across 5 sectors managed through Optimy
15,000+
Since going live — a significant increase from SharePoint era
Full
database preserved from the legacy system
State
Compliant (Custom backend built to meet all federal regulatory requirements)
The ease of use and flexibility offered by Optimy allowed us to tailor it continuously. This adaptability is crucial to build our unique workflow with very strict processes, as we are partially under Government control.
PSD Process Manager — Loterie Nationale
A government-regulated organisation with a €345M annual budget replaced a 30-year-old SharePoint system with a fully compliant, scalable, and flexible Optimy solution — covering both sponsorships and grants.
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