Operator News

Germany – LOTTO Hamburg shows slight fall in revenue in 2022

By Phil - 22 August 2023

The tense economic climate has led to a noticeable reluctance to buy lottery products in Hamburg. This is also reflected in the annual results of the city’s LOTTO Hamburg for the past year. While the stakes are slightly below the previous year’s level overall, the European Eurojackpot lottery in particular has developed positively in Hamburg.

In 2022, the stakes collected by the municipal company totalled €164.8m, 1.6 per cent below the previous year’s level of €167.5m.

“Due to the decline in disposable income due to inflation, a reluctance to buy lottery products can also be felt,” explain the Managing Directors of LOTTO Hamburg GmbH, Michael Heinrich and Torsten Meinberg. “Nevertheless, with the introduction of the second draw and the increase of the maximum jackpot at the Eurojackpot as well as the introduction of a new additional lottery to the GlücksSpirale, we have succeeded in continuing to offer an attractive and safe gambling offer for the people of Hamburg and in fulfilling our channelling mission.”

In addition to the slightly lower stakes of €164.8m compared to €167.5m in the previous year, increases in various cost types and the renewal of the central IT system have had an impact on the operating result.

“After all, LOTTO Hamburg has not increased its prices,” the managing directors emphasized, pointing out that all investments were made from their own funds. “No compromises were made in the support of beneficiaries from the fields of sport, culture and social affairs as well as the promotion of sport. The city also benefits from the surplus of the municipal GmbH with over €55m.”

The operating result (after concession and special purpose fees) amounted to €2022.1m, compared to €4.2m in the previous year. However, due to the special features of the lottery business, these values are only of limited significance, as they are determined according to lottery tax, concession and special purpose fees to the Hamburg budget and the beneficiaries.

The annual result after income taxes amounted to around €0.3m (compared to €0.7m in the previous year) and was distributed to the shareholder, the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, in 2023.

Product modifications and new launches were successful in 2022 and give cause for optimism for further development. In particular, the gaming revenues of the European lottery Eurojackpot have developed positively and the SiegerChance, which was introduced in autumn 2021, has also established itself well as an additional lottery of the GlücksSpirale.

The European lottery Eurojackpot was able to benefit from the second draw day on Tuesday, which has been offered since March 2022, and long high jackpot phases, achieving a stake increase of around 26.4 per cent compared to the previous year. Since March 2022, the Eurojackpot draws have been held on Friday and Tuesday. At the same time, the game formula was adjusted and the maximum jackpot was increased from €90 to €120m. In addition, the Eurojackpot system ticket enables systematic gaming opportunities.

A new product launch has developed positively: The additional lottery SiegerChance, which was introduced in Hamburg in November 2021, was able to establish itself well. It is closely linked to the GlücksSpirale and supports competitive sports with its proceeds. At LOTTO 6aus49, the stakes were 7.5 per cent below the previous year’s level.

The classic LOTTO 6aus49 remains the largest lottery in Hamburg – as well as nationwide – and brings in 51 per cent of Hamburg’s total stake. The European lottery Eurojackpot achieves a share of 24 per cent and the GlücksSpirale with the additional lottery SiegerChance is two per cent, as is the environmental lottery BINGO!. The additional lotteries Spiel77 and Super6 together account for 16% of total revenue. The scratch cards account for four per cent of the stakes.

In the past year, there were 24 high winnings of at least €100,000 and more in the Hanseatic city. Of these, nine high winnings were achieved at LOTTO 6aus49, seven at the Eurojackpot and six at the additional lotteries SUPER6 and Spiel77.

Among them were four million winnings: In June, for example, a Eurojackpot player won €1.7m. The highest win of the year was at LOTTO 6aus49: A lucky person from the north of Hamburg won a whopping 15 million euros in June. Also in June, an internet player scored €3.7m at LOTTO 6aus49. The fourth million prize of €1.3m was also distributed at LOTTO 6aus49 in October.

Across all lotteries, 4.6 million tipsters won a total of €80.7m last year. These include the major lotteries such as LOTTO 6aus49, Eurojackpot and GlücksSpirale as well as TOTO, KENO, the environmental lottery BINGO! and the additional lotteries Super6, Spiel77, SiegerChance and the scratch cards.

With around 400 LOTTO acceptance points, LOTTO Hamburg is firmly rooted in Hamburg’s districts. Although 19 ticket offices had to close last year, almost 70 percent of tickets are still handed in personally on site. However, the share of the Internet is growing steadily. In the meantime, almost 13 per cent of tickets are played online via the Hamburg website. In addition, licensed commercial gaming agents contribute 11 per cent to the overall result.

In addition to the many small and large winners, the common good also benefits from the stakes. This is because the municipal lottery company pays part of the players’ proceeds to the Free and Hanseatic City as public welfare levies. For example, around €55m will flow into the Hamburg budget as a concession fee and lottery tax.

In addition, the environmental lottery BINGO! and the GlücksSpirale as well as the winner’s chance with around €1.7m in Hamburg, sports and monument protection as well as social projects and environmental and disaster control. For example, in 2022, proceeds from the environmental lottery BINGO! 85 projects in nature conservation, environmental protection and development cooperation.

In addition to the concession fees and the promotion of competitive and popular sports from the GlücksSpirale and Sieger-Chance, LOTTO Hamburg has been supporting Hamburg sports as a cooperation partner for several years with around 400,000 euros annually.

Mr. Heinrich and Mr. Meinberg, are optimistic about the future. “Even in these turbulent times, the people of Hamburg enjoy playing LOTTO, Eurojackpot & Co, even if the amount of the stakes is sometimes lower. Together with the German LOTTO and Totoblock, we will continuously develop our products in order to offer people interested in gambling an attractive and at the same time safe offer. For 2023, we expect the stakes to rise again,” they said.