ZEAL continues to grow in the first half of 2022 

• Permission to broker lotteries in Germany renewed until 2029  
• Growth in business volume  
• Profitability continues to rise significantly 
• Player Protection significantly modernized 

Hamburg, 11. August 2022. ZEAL Network SE, the leading German online provider of lottery products, was able to report constant growth and significantly improved profitability in the first half of 2022. While many e-commerce verticals had to face headwinds due to the overall consumer confidence decline and inflation effects, the lottery market was only mildly affected and has instead benefited from a positive jackpot environment. 

Increase in transaction volume, revenue and gross margin  

ZEAL Group's transaction volume increased by eight percent to 358.3 million euros in the first half of 2022 (2021: 332.9 million euros). At the same time, revenues grew by eleven percent to 49.4 million euros (2021: 44.5 million euros). At 12.8 percent, the gross margin in the Germany segment also increased by four percent (2021: 12.3 percent) thanks to a high-margin product mix.  

The market environment for lotteries in Germany was positive in the first half of 2022, which is attributable to the partly more stable jackpot environment compared with the previous year. In the LOTTO 6aus49 lottery, for example, the EUR 45 million mark that triggers a mandatory payout was reached twice, in each case for two consecutive draws. In the European lottery Eurojackpot, a previously unrivaled jackpot of EUR 110 million was hit in the first half of 2022 and won by a LOTTO24 lottery syndicate from North Rhine-Westphalia. 

In the first half of 2022, ZEAL acquired 292 Thousand registered new customers (2021: 291 Thousand). The increased acquisition costs per registered new customer (cost per lead, CPL) of EUR 37.61 (2021: EUR 32.85) are primarily based on a special offer for the freiheit+ social lottery in January 2022. Without this effect, the CPL would have increased significantly less at EUR 34.34. At EUR 13.9 million, marketing costs in the first half of 2022 were slightly higher than in the previous year (2021: EUR 13.8 million) due to the stronger jackpot situation. 

Profitability significantly improved  

Personnel expenses were flat while other operating expenses increased slightly year-on-year to EUR 10.3 million and EUR 24.5 million respectively (2021: EUR 10.2 million and EUR 23.7 million). EBITDA thus increased by 54 percent to EUR 16.5 million (2021: EUR 10.7 million). EBIT and net profit for the period were also significantly higher than in the previous year at EUR 12.1 million and EUR 9.4 million respectively (2021: EUR 6.3 million and EUR 5.7 million). 

"Our continuous growth path makes us proud and shows us that we have also taken the right measures in the first half of 2022 to improve even further in terms of both customers and results," says Jonas Mattsson, CFO of ZEAL Network SE. "We will continue to live up to our market leadership through targeted investments and an attractive product portfolio. We are furthermore proud to have reached an important milestone with the receipt of the follow-up license for lottery brokerage in Germany by LOTTO24 AG, which is the first permit for LOTTO24 AG under the new State Treaty on Gaming." 

Forecast re-confirmed  

For fiscal year 2022, ZEAL still plans to expand its market leadership as an online provider of state-licensed and other licensed lottery products. Depending on the general conditions - in particular the jackpot development - the company continues to expect a billings volume of at least EUR 750 million for the Germany segment. This forecast is based on average jackpot development, resulting in a higher growth rate than in the previous year. In addition, ZEAL continues to assume that revenue will be at least EUR 105 million in fiscal year 2022. For adjusted EBITDA, ZEAL expects at least EUR 30 million. 

About ZEAL Network SE:    

ZEAL Network SE is the leading German provider of lotteries on the internet. Through the portals LOTTO24 and Tipp24 of the subsidiary LOTTO24, the company brokers customers' tickets to the state lottery companies and to charity lottery operators. The product range includes LOTTO 6aus49, Spiel 77, Super 6, Eurojackpot, GlücksSpirale, lottery clubs, Keno, the Deutsche Fernsehlotterie, Scratch Games, the Deutsche Traumhauslotterie and freiheit+. Founded in Germany in 1999, ZEAL started out as a German lottery broker under the name Tipp24. In 2005, the company went public on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (Prime Standard) as one of the most successful IPOs in Germany at the time. In 2019, ZEAL took over LOTTO24 AG.   

Press Contact:    

ZEAL Network SE 
Kristin Splieth   
Head of Corporate Communications   
kristin.splieth@zealnetwork.de    
Tel: +49 (0) 40 808117560