ZEAL reports growth despite weak jackpot environment, further diversifies product portfolio

• Revenue rises by 6% to €54.3 million
• Active customer base expands by 5% to 1,575 thousand
• Gross margin improves once more – EBITDA affected by growth investments
• Charity lottery portfolio selectively broadened with the Traumautoverlosung (Dream Car Raffle)

(AsiaGameHub) –   ZEAL Network SE, Germany’s premier online lottery provider, maintained its growth trajectory in Q1 2026, undeterred by a weak jackpot climate. Revenue grew by 6% year-on-year to €54.3 million (2025: €51.1 million). EBITDA reached €15.5 million, approximately 13% lower than the previous year’s €17.7 million, as ZEAL persistently invested in customer base expansion and product diversification during the quarter. The lottery segment’s gross margin rose to 17.8% (2025: 17.1%).

“Our Q1 2026 performance demonstrates our consistent strategy execution, even amid a weak jackpot setting: our core business is expanding, and we have continued to invest in diversifying our business model,” stated Andrea Behrendt, CFO of ZEAL. “By making targeted investments in new charity lotteries like the Dream Car Raffle, we are establishing the groundwork for sustainable growth that is less reliant on jackpot cycles. The marginally lower EBITDA compared to the prior year is mainly a result of these initiatives.”

Customer base and activity further expanded

ZEAL’s robust Q1 2026 revenue growth was chiefly fueled by ongoing expansion in the lottery business. Even with a weak jackpot environment, the average monthly active users (MAU) climbed by 5% to 1,575 thousand (2025: 1,507 thousand). Concurrently, new registrations jumped by 11% to 274 thousand (2025: 247 thousand). Lottery Billings saw a 1% increase to €268.0 million (2025: €264.7 million). The gross margin from lotteries enhanced by 0.8 percentage points to 17.8% (2025: 17.1%). Consequently, lottery revenue increased by 5% to €48.7 million (2025: €46.3 million).

ZEAL further expands Charity Lotteries with the Dream Car Raffle

Through the Traumautoverlosung (English name: Dream Car Raffle), ZEAL is enhancing its portfolio with another in-house charity lottery and steadily progressing the diversification of its business model. The launch on 14 April 2026, which was thoroughly prepared in Q1, represents a further step in strategically supplementing the traditional lottery brokerage with scalable proprietary products, accessing new target audiences, and further diminishing reliance on jackpot cycles. After freiheit+ and the Dream House Raffle, the Dream Car Raffle is ZEAL’s third charity lottery in Germany. This bolsters the company’s charity lotteries as a secondary growth pillar and highlights its innovation in creating new, appealing raffle formats.

Revenue from Games business continues to grow

The Games division again showed dynamic development in Q1 2026. By growing its B2C portfolio to over 740 titles, ZEAL substantially raised the number of monthly active users and further accelerated segment growth. As a result, Games revenue increased by 14% to €3.9 million (2025: €3.4 million). Thus, Games is progressively becoming a significant element of ZEAL’s more widely diversified business model.

Investments in future growth

During the first quarter of 2026, ZEAL made deliberate investments in the continued evolution of its business model. Increased marketing (+13%) and personnel (+21%) expenditures reflect the steadfast implementation of its multi-year strategy: in addition to reinforcing the core business, the company is orienting its organization, platform, and growth initiatives towards the further scaling of charity lotteries and Games.