German lotteries giant ZEAL Network has become the latest entrant in the UK prize draw sector, a burgeoning industry which continues to both grow and organise.
The Hamburg-headquartered company, which is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, is entering the UK via an acquisition, having bought out London firm SevenCanyon.
SevenCanyon is one of a plethora of prize draw operators in the UK, managing online draws, raffles and lotteries.
Its primary brands are the competitions platform 7days Performance, Redline Competitions, and UK Carp Competitions.
According to its website, it is also a consultancy on competitions and online raffles, working with “other start up gaming businesses in the raffle, lottery and skill gaming space”, leveraging its own experience as a startup sector.
“SevenCanyon is one of the most successful prize draw operators in the UK – we have known them for years,” said Dr. Stefan Tweraser, Chief Executive Officer of ZEAL Network.
“With the acquisition, we hit the ground running in a highly attractive and growing market. We also accelerate the implementation of our strategy to selectively diversify our business model through new products and new markets.”
ZEAL chasing leads in Europe’s largest prize draw market
ZEAL Network has been a 3.5% stakeholder in SevenCanyon for some time. The recent agreement will see it acquire the remaining 96.5%.
The firm has identified the UK as a core growth market, citing it as the largest digital prize draw market in Europe. It is not the only company to have taken note of this, however.
House prize draws Omaze and Raffle House have experienced particularly strong growth in the UK in recent years, while London firm Network Gaming got involved earlier this year via the launch of a B2B platform.
Lancashire-based PrizeKings has also openly earmarked UK growth as a top priority.
The expansion of the prize draw space has not gone unnoticed by other sectors, however, with lotteries in particular calling for greater regulation of the space.
Prize draws are getting more organised as a response, having formed an industry trade body, the Prize Competition Council, just last week.
For ZEAL, expansion in the UK follows continued growth momentum for the firm, which has established itself as the lotteries market leader in Germany with a considerable foothold in charity lotteries and prize draws also.
The company cited SevenCanyon’s operating profit of over £10m for the 2025/26 financial year as a key reason behind its decision to fully acquire the company.
“SevenCanyon is a highly profitable company with a proven business model,” said Andrea Behrendt, Chief Financial Officer of ZEAL Network.
“The purchase price will mainly be financed through a new loan agreement. This preserves our financial flexibility to continue our growth-oriented and shareholder-friendly capital allocation in the future.”