Outgoing Zeal CEO eyes move to entrepreneurship outside of gaming
Speaking to iGB, the longstanding chief executive of 10 years says he plans to venture outside the gaming sector and work on a portfolio of businesses, projects or investments that span various sectors, “broader” than gaming.
“I want to invest my time into a portfolio of entrepreneurial things, rather than one C-level job,” Becker said during a recent interview.
“Stuff that I build myself, or stuff that I invest in. I’m very much looking forward to even more degrees of freedom in my life going forward,”
Throughout his career, Becker has specialised in e-commerce. Prior to Zeal, he spent over five years at eBay in various director-level roles. He also worked for social network Xing in Germany.
Becker’s career at Zeal started in 2011 as a member of the supervisory board. In June 2013 he took on the role of chief marketing officer, and subsequently as CEO in September 2015.
During his tenure, the lottery operator ventured into new verticals, established an in-house games developer and invested in novel lottery games which Becker expects will help propel the sector forward, including prize draws.
In its full-year 2024 results, Zeal posted record group revenue of €188.2 million ($203 million), beating the previous year by 62.2%. It also saw bottom-line net profit rise 333.2% to €59.4 million.
“We’ve tried many things; we failed sometimes but fortunately we were successful more often. We’ve reinvented ourselves, changed business models, moved the company from London to Hamburg and acquired another listed company,” he says of the business’ trajectory.
“I have had a steep learning curve in the last 12 years, which I’ve enjoyed tremendously.
“But there comes a point where you ask yourself; ‘can I muster the energy I need to inject into the business and in the team to drive this forward, or do I need to do something different?’”
In March he informed the Zeal board of directors that he would not renew his contract beyond 2026 and the process to source a replacement began. Becker says this process is still ongoing.
Lottery’s growth potential bigger than expected
Reflecting on his time in gaming, Becker says he was surprised by the growth and innovation potential of the lottery industry. “It was more than I expected when I looked at the industry from the outside before I joined,” he adds.
“[Lottery] is a massive market. You’re not operating in a small niche, it’s a really broad B2C marketplace with large target groups and exciting brand building opportunities. I would say that there’s huge growth potential in lottery and we prove it every day with our numbers and with what we do.”
Zeal CEO on protecting new lottery game types
Becker has shown support for new and novel lottery games like prize draws, which many lottery stakeholders believe are stealing market share from traditional and charity draws.
“I get the impression that some players in the industry are trying to fight the competition through politics here, and I would say that’s not wise. They should focus on innovation in their own business,” he previously told iGB.
He has also called for markets to provide robust regulatory frameworks for lottery, particularly in the US.
“A well-regulated market fosters and incentivises good behaviour and growth. In the end, society benefits from that growth. I do think there’s an opportunity to strike a balance between a well-regulated and open market that is open to private players like us,” he said.