EXCLUSIVE Interview with Alex Green of ZEAL Instant Games, Live from SBC Lisbon
Our Editor was delighted to sit down with Alex Green, Vice President at ZEAL Instant Games, for an in-depth conversation about his journey in iGaming, the studio’s rapid rise and what makes its portfolio stand out in such a competitive space. With more than two decades of experience in the industry, including a long stint at the UK National Lottery before joining ZEAL, Alex brings a wealth of insight into product development, regulation and the future of digital games.
In this interview, Green shares how ZEAL has carved out its niche, the cultural influences shaping its games and where the studio is headed next.
Can you tell us about your own journey in the iGaming industry and how you came to be involved with ZEAL Instant Games?
My background was in a parallel market, which is the lottery market. I worked at the UK National Lottery for 20 years, spending a portion of that time working for Camelot and, more recently, Allwyn. I originally started in the retail team but then I got really interested in games and marketing. After many years in the commercial department, I ended up running the Games team that was responsible for the strategy and performance of all the National Lottery's games, including Lotto, EuroMillions,Scratchcards and eInstants. I really enjoyed my time there and learned many things that are transferrable and relevant for iGaming. For example, leading a team, creating strategy to drive commercial performance and building games to sell to players.
ZEAL's DNA is a lottery organisation that has recently diversified into games. I moved to ZEAL a year ago, in fact it was a year ago yesterday! My role here is to lead the games team. This role has enabled me to be entrepreneurial and brought me much closer to the P&L. I am very much in the trenches and delivering with the team, which I love.
Tell me about ZEAL prior to you joining the team, how long has the studio been going?
ZEAL was founded in 1999, so 26 years ago! Back then, ZEAL was among the first to bring lottery to the internet. Today, ZEAL is the online market leader for lotteries in Germany with strong brands such as LOTTO24 and Tipp24. Furthermore, we operate two charity lotteries, namely freiheit+ and Traumhausverlosung.
The games part of the business has been in operation for around two years now. We began selling our games in 2023 and have been growing ever since
As we can see today on the exhibition floor, there are many studios in the space effectively offering products similar to ZEAL. What do you believe sets ZEAL Instant Games apart from other studios in the instant win, scratchcard and slots space?
This is an excellent question. It was definitely one of the things I thought a lot about when I first came to ZEAL, the fact that this is a really crowded market and how we could stand out. What I have observed is that there are a few things that players and operators pick out from our games. Firstlyl, we like to show a character in many of our games; a protagonist to bring the title to life. The characters really bring a game proposition to life and can tell a story within a game. We find that players and operators alike are drawn towards the characters, often having very different favourites!
I agree. Looking at your portfolio, all of your games are very distinctive. I often find that studios have a design style, whereas ZEAL's games are all incredibly unique and separate from one another.
Yes, we are focused on the German market currently, so we have focused on creating games that are culturally relevant. For example, we have created games that are set in some of Germany’s largest cities, such as Berlin Bouncers, Hamburg Heist, Minga Maß and Cologne Carnival - people really like these as there is a great level of relevance there. However, we also have many games that are designed to be relevant to multiple markets and are planning to expand outside of Germany.
That brings me nicely to my next question. When developing new games, how do you strike the balance between introducing creative mechanics and meeting player expectations for simplicity and excitement?
We have to realise that player expectations differ. All players want different things. This is why our portfolio of games ranges from games that are really simple, such as scratch and reveal formats, to more immersive games such as crossword and bingo. Then, we have slot games that are more complex. We try to design games that reflect the differing needs of players. I like to think that in our library, there is a game for everybody.
ZEAL offers multiple RTP variants across its portfolio. How do you decide which to implement in different markets?
We can of course advise on RTP but usually let the operator decide giventhey know much more about their market and players. Also, operators have many different philosophies and strategies regarding RTP.
With an MGA licence and ambitions to grow internationally, what are the biggest regulatory challenges you face? I know Germany is a big focus for you.
Our plan is very much to start with Germany then move outwards. We know the German market, we have our games live there. The regulatory landscape in Germany is challenging, for instance, we have maximum stakes-per-play and spin speed restrictions, but we are used to it and build our games for this market with this in mind.
However, with our MGA licence, we have access to a number of jurisdictions, which we are now pursuing.
I think that is a very admirable approach. Too often, we see studios simply copying and pasting their creations and launching them in new markets with no real relevance.
ZEAL is integrated with several leading aggregators. What's your strategy for choosing a partner and how do you adapt your games to meet their varied requirements?
The strategy is very simple. We partner with operators in regulated markets.. We will not offer our games outside of regulated markets. When we do move outside of Germany, the games will be tailored for local requirements. For instance, language options and currencies.
Instant win games and scratchcard products can be highly engaging. How do you approach responsible gaming and what safeguards are built into your content?
Firstly, I will say that ZEAL takes responsible gaming very seriously. We have various measures in place to ensure we are looking after our players in the best way we can. For example, we use AI-based technologies that report potentially harmful player behavior. In addition, we offer the use of limits for stakes and playing time and provide transparent advice to our players about the topic of gambling addiction prevention.
In Germany, the restrictions are very much weighted in favour of the player when it comes to responsible gaming. Safe gambling informs the game creation process from the outset.
Looking ahead to 2026, what innovations or trends do you think will most shape the iGaming sector?
I have three things. Firstly it’s the German regulatory framework,where that goes in the future and to what extent the GGL may decide to make changes in favour of the white market, allowing legal operators to be as competitive as possible.
Next is how we attract a new generation of iGamers who are tech natives and do things very differently from how we did things when we were their age. For us, it will be about making relevant compositions. I think there will need to be some adjustments to how we design and market games. I don't think there is a silver bullet here.
Thirdly, it's AI - the buzzword for every iGaming company. It will be interesting to see how this is going to be used in the future. We already use AI in game design, supporting our customer operations team and. checking on our players from a responsible gaming point of view. So we are already using it, but as time goes on, we will likely be utilising it more and more.
What's next for ZEAL Instant Games? Are there any upcoming milestones, product innovations or market entries you're particularly excited about?
We have had a really positive few days here at the show which has given us a huge amount of confidence that we have something good going here that is resonating. We have a number of operators in Germany that we are going to live with and we are in talks with some other big aggregators, which will help open us up to additional markets. It's a very exciting time for ZEAL with some big announcements in the pipeline.
Thank you for your time, Alex.
