In a significant change within the supervisory board of Zeal, the lottery and gaming giant has confirmed upcoming transitions at the highest level of its governance. Andreas Steiner, who has been an integral part of the board since 2013, will be stepping down as the supervisory chairman at the end of the 2025 annual general meeting, thus bringing an end to his 12-year tenure with the company.
Steiner’s journey with Zeal began in June 2013, and he ascended to the chairmanship role in 2017, serving diligently with an exception in 2019 when he briefly chaired the Lotto24 supervisory board. His departure marks a significant shift for the company, prompting an immediate search for a worthy replacement to fill the impending vacancy. The leadership of Zeal will be crucially tasked with ensuring a seamless transition amid this change.
In a parallel development, Zeal is also grappling with the sudden loss of Frank Strauß, who passed away unexpectedly at the age of 54. Strauß had been a dedicated member of Zeal’s supervisory board for the past four years. Before his tenure with Zeal, he had a distinguished career at Deutsche Bank AG, where he worked for nearly three decades, culminating in a prestigious role as a member of the management board responsible for global private and corporate client business.
Steiner remembered Strauß with high regard, emphasizing how deeply saddened the company was by his untimely passing. “With his decades of management experience and his high level of commitment, he was a highly valued colleague, not only on the supervisory board,” Steiner remarked. “Our thoughts are with his wife, his children, and his family during this difficult time.”
Echoing Steiner’s sentiments, Zeal CEO Helmut Becker paid homage to Strauß’s contributions, underscoring the void his absence would create. “Frank Strauß has made a significant contribution to Zeal’s success over the past four years,” Becker said. “His advice, ideas, and commitment will be missed by us all, but also by me personally. We are very grateful for his work and pay tribute to him. Our deepest condolences go to his family.” The company will now undertake the necessary steps to identify and appoint a successor to Strauß on the supervisory board.
The timing of these internal developments coincides with the release of Zeal’s Q1 financial results for this fiscal year. Zeal reported a remarkable 35.2% increase in revenue, amounting to €36.
.1 million (£30.7m/$39.3m). This growth was substantially driven by a 28.5% rise in lottery revenue, which reached €32.0 million. Additionally, the company’s new online games division in Germany has started showing promising results, contributing €2.2 million in revenue since its launch in June last year, although there are no comparative year-on-year figures yet.
Zeal’s expansion beyond Germany also showed positive trends, with revenues from its international operations, primarily in Spain through the ONCE business, growing by 9.0% to €1.4 million. Despite an increase in overall costs, the robust revenue growth resulted in a net profit of €21.1 million—an impressive 382.8% increase from the previous year. Furthermore, the company’s EBITDA also saw year-on-year growth, edging up to €9.4 million.
The financial upswing underscores Zeal’s resilient business model and strategic growth areas, reaffirming investor confidence even as the company navigates these leadership transitions. The search for new board members, alongside the operational success, reflects Zeal’s commitment to maintaining its upward trajectory while honoring the legacies of its departing and late supervisors.
Zeal’s next steps will be closely watched by industry analysts and stakeholders who will be keen to see how the company balances these considerable leadership changes with its ongoing expansion and financial performance. These developments will undeniably mark a new chapter in Zeal’s history, one that comes with both challenges and opportunities for the global lottery powerhouse.
