Former minister joins Germany’s Postcode Lotterie board

Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger has been appointed chairwoman of the lottery’s advisory board.

Germany.- Former federal justice minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger has been named deputy chairwoman of the Deutsche Postcode Lotterie’s advisory board.

Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, a member of the Free Democratic Party, is a well-known German politician. She was a member of the Bundestag for 23 years and justice minister for eight years.

She has also worked as anti-Semitism commissioner for the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

In her new position, she will be responsible for decisions on the allocation of funding for social and green projects from the German postcode lottery, which is run by Dutch charitable lottery operator Novamedia.

Joining her on the five-person advisory board will be a former Bundestag colleague Rita Süssmuth.

A member of the Christian Democratic Union, Süssmuth was president of the Bundestag for a decade from 1988 to 1998, and federal minister for youth, family and health from 1985 to 1988.

Operating since 2016, the Deutsche Postcode Lotterie offers monthly draws with a chance to win a share of more than €1m with neighbours.

It donates 30 per cent of revenue to charity, and has so far donated around €47m to more than 2,100 projects. Novamedia runs similar lotteries in the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the UK.

Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger said: “The Deutsche Postcode Lotterie is the only lottery in Germany in which entire neighbourhoods not only win together, but also support social and green projects in their area.

“I think this concept is great and am therefore very happy to be able to support the social lottery as an advisory board member.”

Deutsche Postcode Lotterie’s managing director, Annemiek Hoogenboom, said: “Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger has not only achieved a lot as a politician. She has also been involved in various social and non-profit organisations for decades.

“We are very happy that this extraordinary woman will now support and enrich our advisory board as vice chairwoman.”

Over in the UK, the Gambling Commission this week officially launched the tender process to select an operator for the National Lottery.