Zeal marketing spend helps 30% uplift in customers

Lottery betting company Zeal Network has benefited from an increase in its marketing spend, according to its latest Q1 results.
The Frankfurt Stock Exchange-listed company invested an extra €488,000 in its marketing spend for the first quarter of 2019, reaching €5.16m euros for the period, but it appears that the extra spend was very effective for the company, despite it closing down two of its brands late last year.
The company revealed: “Building on the positive trend in recent years, we delivered 182k new registered customers for the Group and its partners – a 30% increase year-on-year (2018:140k). Average Billings Per User in our lottery betting segment were broadly maintained year-on-year at €57.47 (2018: €58.02).”
The firm added that the increased investment in marketing is consistent with its strategy to drive customer acquisition and internationalisation.
The global ZEAL Group is made up of many different brands (such as Lottovate and ZEAL Investments), affiliated companies (such as myLotto24), and online platforms (such as Tipp24).
The company is about to acquire Germany’s largest digital lottery broker Lotto24 after 93.04% of Lotto24 shareholders accepted the voluntary public takeover offer within the two acceptance periods, a move that will bring more brands under the Zeal Network umbrella.
This is the first reporting period following the closure of Lotto Network in November 2018 and the Group’s Spanish consumer-facing business, Ventura24 S.L.U. in December 2018. Despite this and a lower number of large jackpots during the quarter having a negative impact on billings, revenue and TOP, the firm reported that performance was solid on a like-for-like basis.
Jonas Mattsson, CFO at ZEAL, said: “We delivered a positive EBIT performance, reduced our cost base and further improved our net cash position. These results highlight the strong position we have created for ZEAL and set us up well as we prepare to complete our acquisition of Lotto24. I look forward to next week’s reunification of ZEAL and Lotto24 and, together, building our Group’s future.”