Germany: Lottery bets grew in 2020

Wagers were up 8.2 per year on year in 2020 and online sales accounted for more than 11 per cent of the total.

Germany.- The Deutscher Lotto und Totoblock (DLTB), Germany’s state lottery association, revealed that wagers grew 8.2 per cent year on year in 2020.

Gamblers staked US$9.7bn (€7.9bn) across the vertical throughout the 12 month period. This resulting in the government receiving $3.8bn (€3.10bn) through duties and taxes.

DLTB chair and managing director of Lotto Rheinland-Pfalz, Jürgen Häfner, said: “The 16 German state lottery companies proved to be crisis-proof and reliable during the 2020 pandemic.

“This good annual result shows that our gaming offerings are as popular with participants as before – despite numerous points of sale having to close temporarily during the pandemic.

“Many customers compensated for these closures, for example, by submitting multi-week tickets and using our online offers.”

According to iGaming Business, the most popular game was Lotto 6aus49, with sales fof $4.9bn (€3.98bn), more than half of all lottery stakes.

Prizes on the game were larger and so the number of tickets available were increased as of 23 September.

It was followed by the pan-European Eurojackpot game, with stakes growing more than 18 per cent to $1.8bn (€1.47bn).

Due to the pandemic, betting shops and venues were forced to close which led to an uptick in online play.

Online lottery ticket sales through state lotteries’ local websites totalled $1.12bn (€913m), up 40.2 per cent year-on-year.

Digital sales accounted for 11.6 per cent of lottery stakes for the year.