Zeal Ventures

Zeal Ventures

Zeal Ventures was founded in 2017 as the investment arm of ZEAL Network SE, the Hamburg-based lottery operator that originated as Tipp24. Jens Schumann and Marc Peters co-founded the parent company, which today trades on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and provides the venture unit with strategic and operational backing. Unlike a classic family office, the capital source is a listed entity — creating a hybrid investment vehicle that deploys corporate balance-sheet capital rather than personal family wealth. The firm targets early-stage and growth investments across the lottery, prize-led gaming, and digital entertainment ecosystem. It has committed to 10 businesses since inception and currently holds five active positions. Confirmed portfolio companies include UK-based prize draw platform DAYMADE and Swedish iLottery operator Random State — the latter structured as a co-investment with FDJ United Ventures. Zeal Ventures covers Europe as its primary geographic footprint, with deal activity observable in the UK, Sweden, and Germany. The firm participates in both direct equity rounds and co-investment structures, often alongside other strategic lottery and gaming investors. Dr. Stefan Tweraser serves as CEO, with Juliane Gutsmiedl and Amit Lakhani leading deal execution as Investment Directors alongside Investment Manager Henrik Mai. The parent company, ZEAL Network, maintains its headquarters at Strassenbahnring 11 in Hamburg and joined the World Lottery Association in April 2023 and the Deutscher Online-Casinoverband in April 2025 — industry memberships that provide the venture team with regulatory and market intelligence. In 2025, ZEAL and FDJ United Ventures announced they were open to future investment collaborations following the Random State co-investment. The group also operates two philanthropic programs, freiheit+ and Traumhausverlosung, both linked to the parent company's consumer-facing operations. Zeal Ventures' structural differentiator is not its stage mandate but its sponsor. It functions as a corporate venture capital unit drawing permanent capital from a publicly listed lottery operator, which means its portfolio companies gain privileged access to ZEAL Network's technology stack, regulatory licenses, and customer distribution channels across Europe. The firm is one of the few dedicated institutional investors globally focused exclusively on re-architecting the lottery vertical — moving it from legacy draw-based models to interactive, prize-led digital experiences.