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ZEAL presents strong nine-month figures: Double-digit growth in revenue and billings
ZEAL Network SE, the leading German online provider of lottery products, significantly increased its billings and revenue in the first nine months of 2023. In addition, ZEAL acquired more new customers than in the previous year, further strengthening the basis for future revenue growth.
“The strong growth in our billings and revenue proves that we continue to expand our market leadership,” says Sebastian Bielski, CFO of ZEAL. “The publication of the first figures for our online games business also show that ZEAL has made the right decision to enter this new line of business. The initial success in the online games segment also makes us confident that we are on track for further growth with our attractive and growing games offering.”
More sales and billings through marketing investments
Driven in part by a successful third quarter, ZEAL Group’s billings grew by 16 percent to € 633.2 million in the first nine months of 2023 (2022: € 544.4 million). At the same time, revenue also increased by 16 percent to € 86.0 million (2022: € 74.5 million). At 12.5 percent, the company’s gross margin was close to the previous year’s figure (2022: 12.8 percent).
In the first nine months of the year, ZEAL was able to use the attractive jackpot phases in January, March, June and September to acquire new customers and further expand its business volume. The company intensified its marketing activities during high jackpot phases and promoted future sales growth through intensified TV advertising.
Strong EBITDA despite increased new customer acquisition
In the first nine months of 2023, ZEAL acquired 518 thousand new customers (2022: 501 thousand). Due to ongoing media-cost inflation, intensified competition for new customers in online channels, and the company’s strategic decision to invest into brand-building through increased TV advertising, the acquisition costs per registered new customer (cost per lead, CPL) were higher than in the previous year at € 46.81 (2022: € 36.42). Overall, marketing expenses were 27 percent higher than in the previous year at € 30.7 million (2022: € 24.1 million). For this reason, other operating expenses rose to € 48.8 million (2022: € 40.6 million). Even taking into account ZEAL’s increased investment into marketing, EBITDA increased by 5 percent to € 23.2 million (2022: € 22.0 million). EBIT amounted to € 16.7 million (2022: € 15.5 million) while the after-tax result for the period fell to € 10.1 million (2022: € 12.1 million) due to a € 1.1 million decrease in the financial result and a significant increase in tax expenses compared to the previous year.
First figures for Online Games
With the results for the third quarter of 2023, ZEAL is presenting its first business figures for its online games offering launched in June 2023. Since the launch of the offering, ZEAL has started to grow its games portfolio. Revenue in the third quarter of 2023 amounted to € 1.2 million. As the offering was started only recently there are no comparative figures for the previous year.
Forecast confirmed
For the 2023 financial year, ZEAL continues to plan to expand its market leadership as an online provider of lottery products and introduce new products, including additional online games. For the Germany segment, ZEAL anticipates billings from lotteries (excluding games) in the range of € 800 million to € 830 million, assuming an average jackpot development. In addition, ZEAL continues to assume that revenue in the 2023 financial year will be between € 110 million and € 120 million. ZEAL expects EBITDA to be in the range of € 30 million to € 35 million. The company continues to expect to invest significantly more in new customer acquisition compared to the previous year and expects marketing expenses of € 34 million to € 39 million.
Eight creators compete across five timed stages with eliminations, broadcast on Red Bull’s Twitch and YouTube channels.
Red Bull will stage a one-day Balatro speedrun competition, Red Bull Boss Rush, on April 17, 2026. The event brings together eight creators for timed runs in the roguelike deckbuilder, with viewers able to follow via individual creator POV streams and a central hub broadcast.
The competitor lineup includes Red Bull Player Ludwig, plus The Spiffing Brit, FrostPrime, Feinberg, Adef, Yahiamice, mbtyugioh and dreads. Red Bull said live commentary will be provided by esports host Yinsu ‘Yinsu’ Collins, card-game specialist Blake ‘Rarran’ Eram, and DrSpectered.
Boss Rush is structured as five 30-minute stages, with players ranked by completion time. Red Bull said the opening three stages use a shared random seed with unlimited resets, and points are awarded by placement each stage; the bottom four are eliminated after stage 3. Stage 4 determines the finalists, followed by a final winner-takes-all matchup.
The event also includes a downloadable Red Bull Boss Rush mod featuring a custom-branded deck and new Red Bull-themed Jokers, Bosses and Skip Tags. Red Bull highlighted additions including ‘Witch’, ‘Princess and Frog’, ‘Zebra’, Old Dog, ‘Pirate’, ‘Genie’, ‘Prince Charming’, and ‘Jester’, each designed to alter scoring or run economics.
Red Bull Boss Rush will stream on twitch.tv/redbull and Red Bull’s YouTube Gaming channel. Scan is supplying gaming PCs for the competition, according to the company.
Relevant data as follows:
- Red Bull Gaming on Twitch; https://www.twitch.tv/redbull Primary broadcast destination for the event.
- Red Bull Gaming on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/redbullgaming Secondary broadcast destination cited in the release.
- Red Bull Gaming: https://www.redbull.com/ Official Red Bull site for event context and confirmation.
- Balatro on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2379780/Balatro/ Authoritative reference for the game featured in the competition.
- Scan Computers: https://www.scan.co.uk/ PC supplier mentioned as providing systems for the event.
The post Red Bull runs one-day Balatro speedrun event, Boss Rush, on April 17 appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Brazil stands out for crash-game visibility, while Argentina fragments across 15 providers, according to Blask’s review of five markets.
Blask has published new data on casino lobby distribution across five Latin American markets—Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Peru—finding a shared baseline of Pragmatic Play dominance but sharply different secondary content patterns by country.
Across all five markets, Pragmatic Play “consistently dominates the top 30 most-distributed titles,” accounting for up to 16 positions in each country, Blask said. Beyond that layer, Blask argues there is “no single playbook” for how operators and aggregators build lobbies.
Brazil is the clearest outlier for mechanics, with crash-style titles such as Aviator and JetX appearing in the top 30, while similar formats are “largely absent” in the other markets analyzed. Blask also points to Brazil as the only country where Pocket Games Soft holds a meaningful distribution share, driven by its Fortune series.
Mexico shows the opposite pattern: the highest concentration of Pragmatic Play titles and a thinner secondary layer. Blask flagged Endorphina as an example of a provider appearing in Mexico’s top 30 but not elsewhere in its dataset.
Argentina is described as the most fragmented market, with 15 different providers represented in the top 30—more than any other country in the analysis—and broader visibility for live and table content. Chile “closely mirrors Mexico” structurally, Blask said, but includes a single non-Pragmatic title with near-ubiquitous placement across operator lobbies. Peru, meanwhile, spreads remaining top-30 positions across 12 providers, including studios not seen in the other markets and “legacy European brands such as Novomatic.”
Blask’s conclusion is that operators should not assume a winning lobby mix in one country will translate regionally. “Beyond the dominant layer, performance is defined not by regional trends, but by local player behavior and demand signals,” the company said.
The post Blask data shows LATAM casino lobbies diverge beyond Pragmatic Play’s baseline appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Casino lobbies across Latin America may look similar at first glance — but a deeper look reveals they operate on entirely different logic. According to new data from Blask, all five major region players (Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Peru) share one common layer: Pragmatic Play consistently dominates the top 30 most-distributed titles, accounting for up to 16 positions in each market. But everything beyond that baseline tells a different story.
Crash games cluster in Brazil but not elsewhere
Brazil is the only market where crash-style mechanics achieve consistent visibility at the lobby level. Titles like Aviator and JetX both rank among the top 30, while similar formats are largely absent in the other four markets. At the same time, Brazil is the only country where a second provider, Pocket Games Soft, secures a meaningful share of distribution, driven entirely by its Fortune series. This dual pattern suggests a highly specific local demand profile rather than a regional trend.
Mexico runs on a tighter playbook
While Brazil expands, Mexico narrows. The market shows the highest concentration of Pragmatic Play titles and one of the most limited secondary layers. At the same time, it introduces isolated signals that don’t scale regionally such as the presence of Endorphina, which appears in the Mexican top 30 but nowhere else in the dataset.
Argentina breaks the pattern entirely
Argentina stands apart as the most fragmented market in the region. Its top 30 includes 15 different providers which is more than any other country analyzed. Unlike neighboring markets, where a handful of suppliers dominate, Argentina distributes visibility across a wide range of studios, particularly in live and table segments. The result is a lobby structure that resists standardization.
Chile shows how a single game can outperform the system
Chile closely mirrors Mexico in overall structure but with one key exception. A single non-Pragmatic title achieves near-ubiquitous placement across operator lobbies, becoming one of the strongest outliers in the entire dataset.This suggests that even in highly concentrated markets, individual titles can break through if they match local demand precisely.
Peru stretches the long tail further than anyone else
Peru takes the opposite approach to Mexico. While maintaining the same Pragmatic baseline, it distributes the remaining positions across 12 different providers, many of which do not appear in any other LATAM market analyzed. This includes both niche studios and legacy European brands such as Novomatic, pointing to a mix of underserved demand segments and alternative content sourcing strategies.
One region, no single playbook
The key takeaway from the analysis is simple: LATAM is not a unified market when it comes to content distribution. The same providers appear everywhere but the way their games are positioned, combined, and supplemented varies dramatically from country to country. For operators, this means that copying a successful lobby structure from one market to another is unlikely to work. Beyond the dominant layer, performance is defined not by regional trends, but by local player behavior and demand signals.
The post Same providers, different games: Blask uncovers hidden patterns in LATAM casino lobbies appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.
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