What Postcode Lotterie does

Postcode Lotterie gGmbH is a German social lottery (Soziallotterie) founded in 2016 and headquartered in Düsseldorf. The company sells monthly subscription lottery tickets at €12.50 each (maximum three per participant) under a license granted by the Gemeinsame Glücksspielbehörde der Länder (GGL) effective across all 16 German federal states, with the lottery system itself certified by TÜV Saarland and gaming practices certified by European Lotteries. The core product is a postcode-and-street-code lottery: each ticket is assigned a 'Postcode' derived from the participant's postal code plus an auto-generated street code, and prizes are awarded at the neighborhood level rather than to individual ticket holders. Five integrated monthly draws are bundled into the €12.50 ticket — a €2M monthly prize split between postcode and postal code winners, a €10,000-per-ticket Saturday street prize plus a BMW 1er car, daily €1,000 prizes, Sunday gift vouchers and material prizes, and periodic Sonderverlosung special draws.

The commercial model is a recurring subscription acquired direct-to-consumer via website (registration in under two minutes), toll-free phone, or mail-order coupon. 30% of every ticket contribution is contractually allocated to social and environmental projects, distinguishing the offering from conventional lottery products. Since 2016 the company reports approximately €480 million distributed to around 8,000 projects, with 2025 alone reaching a record €90,745,106; cumulative winners exceed 1.4 million and ~80% of participants reportedly won something in the prior year. Operations and beneficiary relationships are managed by three Managing Directors (Robert Engel, Karsten Kraume, Alex Tielbeke) and a Head of Charities (Katja Diemer). The product surface is intentionally non-modular: one unified subscription lottery service supported by a customer self-service portal ('Mein Konto'), pause functionality (up to three months), and ticket-count reduction, rather than a multi-product platform.

Name

Postcode Lotterie

Legal name

Postcode Lotterie gGmbH

Website

https://postcode-lotterie.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Postcode Lotterie is a German licensed social lottery selling €12.50/month subscription tickets whose winning groups are defined by postcode plus street code; 30% of every ticket funds social and environmental projects across Germany.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Lottery Services

NAICS

Other Grantmaking and Giving Services (813219)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Lottery Operators (Government & Private Licensed) (MPAEAFAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Lottery Beneficiary/Fund Administration & Grant Management Services (MPAEAFAN), Draw-Based Lottery Management (Number Games, Keno as Lottery) (MPAEAFAE)

Keywords

• Social lottery
• Lottery subscription
• Charitable lottery
• Postcode lottery
• Neighborhood lottery

Headquarters

HQ city

Düsseldorf

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Lottery Ticket Subscriptions: Monthly subscription-based lottery tickets at €12.50 per ticket, with customers able to purchase up to 3 tickets. Each ticket grants participation in all five monthly drawings including monthly prize, Saturday street prize, daily prizes, Sunday prizes, and special drawings. Revenue is generated through recurring monthly subscriptions with approximately 30% of contributions allocated to charitable causes.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Postcode Lotterie operates a subscription-based social lottery in Germany, selling monthly tickets at €12.50 each (max 3 per person) that combine five integrated prize draws (Monatsgewinn, Straßenpreis, Tagesgewinn, Sonntagsgewinn, Sonderverlosung). Unique to this lottery, winning is determined by postcodes combining postal code with a street code, creating neighborhood-level winning groups rather than individual winners. Thirty percent of each ticket contribution is allocated to social and environmental projects across Germany.

Product overview

Postcode Lotterie is a German social lottery (Soziallotterie) offering subscription-based monthly lottery tickets at €12.50 per ticket. The core product consists of five integrated monthly prize draws: Monatsgewinn (€2 million monthly prize), Straßenpreis (€10,000 weekly + BMW car), Tagesgewinn (€1,000 daily), Sonntagsgewinn (€5-28 gift vouchers and prizes), and Sonderverlosung (special promotional draws). The platform also includes customer account management (Mein Konto) with features for ticket suspension (Pause) and count reduction (Losanzahl Reduzieren). A key differentiator is the integrated charitable mission (Postcode Effekt), where 30% of ticket sales fund social and environmental projects, with approximately 8,000 projects funded since 2016. The Traumtaler initiative provides exceptional large-scale project grants. The company operates as a single, unified subscription lottery service rather than a modular platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Monatslos (Monthly Lottery Ticket) The core subscription product: monthly lottery ticket priced at €12.50 per month (max 3 per participant), granting automatic participation in all five monthly prize draws. Subscription is cancellable at any time and includes access to Mein Konto self-service portal.
• Postcode Effekt (Charitable Project Funding) Charitable funding program in which 30% of each ticket payment flows directly to social and environmental projects covering equal opportunities, social cohesion, and nature/environmental protection. Since 2016, approximately 8,000 projects have been funded with over €480 million.
• Traumtaler (Dream Taler) Special large-scale project funding initiative awarding substantial grants (e.g., €2,000,000 to Greenpeace for forest protection) to projects featuring innovative solutions for pressing societal challenges with long-term impact for people and nature.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 90 million € distributed to charitable causes since founding in 2016
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers29 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration16 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Hacker School gGmbHcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Digital education partner since 2023, bringing programming education to young people through creative, practice-oriented workshops at schools and in cooperation with companies.
• WWF DeutschlandcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Long-term funding partner since 2022, focused on climate protection, seal conservation, and coastal protection in the Wadden Sea. WWF receives ongoing support from lottery proceeds to preserve habitats for humans and wildlife.
• Gemeinsame Glücksspielbehörde der Länder (GGL)coreOthersGovernment regulatory body overseeing lottery operations across all German federal states. Responsible for licensing and compliance monitoring of the Postcode Lottery.
• KICKFAIRminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFörderpartner (funding partner) participating in winner celebration events and community activities at LWL-Freilichtmuseum Hagen.
• Chancenwerk e.V.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducation equality organization supported since 2017, receiving project-based funding initially and now project-independent support since 2024.
• International Rescue Committee (IRC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTraumtaler 2025 recipient for GLUeK program - a cost-effective, scalable method for treating child malnutrition in Ethiopia.
• Initiative Offene Gesellschaft e.V.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNetwork partner receiving long-term, project-independent funding for promoting democratic values and open society through community events across Germany.
• RTL Stiftung Wir helfen Kinder e.V.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor charitable partner since 2020, receiving €500,000 at RTL Spendenmarathon 2024. Total support exceeding €3.5 million since partnership began.
• BILD hilft e.V. Ein Herz für KindercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerChild welfare charity supported with €500,000, operating the annual Ein Herz für Kinder gala broadcast on ZDF.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• People's Postcode Lottery: UK-based social lottery using the same postcode-based neighborhood winning model. Directly comparable in product mechanics, subscription structure, and charitable giving framework. Sister concept to Postcode Lotterie Germany, both originating from the same Dutch Postcode Lottery family of lotteries.
• Nationale Postcode Loterij: The original Dutch social lottery operating the same postcode-based winning model. Direct peer and conceptual parent of the German Postcode Lotterie. Comparable in subscription mechanics, charitable giving structure, and regulatory framework, though operating under Dutch rather than German oversight.
• Deutsche Fernsehlotterie: German social lottery offering weekly tickets supporting charitable causes. Directly comparable as a fellow German Soziallotterie under GGL regulation with subscription model and donation component. Competes for the same charity-minded lottery consumer in Germany.
• Aktion Mensch: Germany's largest social lottery, supporting disability inclusion and social participation. Comparable subscription-based lottery model with significant charitable giving tied to participation. Direct competitor for the same consumer wallet of socially-conscious lottery players in Germany.
• Glücksspirale: German lottery operated by the Deutscher Lotto- und Totoblock with charitable giving tied to ticket purchases. Comparable in charitable lottery mechanics, though distributed through state lottery channels rather than direct subscription.
• Svenska PostkodLotteriet: Swedish social lottery using the postcode-based winning model from the same international Postcode Lottery family. Direct peer in product mechanics, subscription structure, and charitable giving framework, operating under Swedish regulation.

Broad incumbents

• Lotto (Deutscher Lotto- und Totoblock): Federation of 16 German state lotteries operating Lotto 6aus49, Eurojackpot, and other draw-based games. Largest lottery operator in Germany by revenue. Broad incumbent with overlapping gambling product portfolio, but not charity-focused and uses traditional ticket retail rather than subscription.
• Lotto24: German online lottery broker allowing digital purchase of state lottery products including Lotto 6aus49 and Eurojackpot. Broad incumbent in the online lottery channel with overlapping customer base but no charitable giving component.
• Tipico: Major German sports betting and gambling operator with a strong German market presence. Broad incumbent competing for the same discretionary gambling/entertainment spend, though focused on sports betting rather than charitable lottery products.
• Zeal Network (Lotto24 parent): German online lottery broker operating Lotto24 and providing B2B lottery solutions. Broad incumbent in the German lottery channel with overlapping customer base, publicly traded comparator for estimating private-company valuation multiples in the German lottery space.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/PostcodeLotterie
• Instagraminstagram.com/postcodelotterie
• TikToktiktok.com/@postcodelotterie
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/deutsche-postcode-lotterie

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Postcode Lotterie