ZEAL Ventures leads funding round in The Racehorse Lotto
ZEAL Ventures, one of the leading venture capital firms in the lottery and wider prize gaming space, is pleased to announce it has completed a funding round for The Racehorse Lotto at a £3.2m valuation.
The Racehorse Lotto provides players with the chance to win amazing experiences around horse racing in the UK, while supporting grassroots racing through its donations to Racing Welfare who receive 20% of every ticket sold.
CEO Hugh O’Donnell said: “We have a passionate desire to open up racehorse ownership and the wider horse racing industry. It has a snooty image, and we want to change that. The money we have raised will help us to expand our team and to launch bigger prize competitions to give more people than ever the opportunity at racehorse ownership. As ever, we are delighted to have Zeal Ventures with us on our journey.”
ZEAL invested in the first round in January 2020 after seeing promising acquisition data. The business has since launched a fully-fledged business in a tough year for racing. Despite the Covid-induced closures, players have shown a strong interest in The Racehorse Lotto and the chance to win their very own Racehorse.
The team continues to hold a majority of the shares with ZEAL Ventures as the biggest investor with close to 27% of the shares after this latest investment. The team is also supported by a syndicate of experienced individual investors with decades of experience in the gaming industry. One such investor is Simon Collins, a gaming industry veteran who has now turned to the development and growth of new gaming opportunities. Simon Collins said “Seeing the importance to players of branded content with Slingo – this was an easy decision to back a business based on the Sport of Kings”.
Amit Lakhani, Investment Director at ZEAL Ventures, said: “We are convinced in the potential for The Racehorse Lotto. Despite a tough year for Racing, the team have shown strong customer retention rates proving there is an audience for this offer. We expect the business to grow strongly as we get back to racing. We are pleased to have reaffirmed our commitment to the business.”
For more information contact Amit Lakhani at amit.lakhani@zeal-network.co.uk.
About ZEAL Ventures
ZEAL Ventures invests in game changing lottery-like prize competitions. We challenge the ingrained assumptions behind the lottery and invest in solid teams who have some validation in the form of real user data in games with a prize element.
We are the Venture arm of ZEAL Network SE, the leading German online provider of lottery products. The group is listed on the SDAX with a valuation of close to €1bn.
About The Racehorse Lotto
The Racehorse Lotto, which launched last year, provides the opportunity for racing fans to win life changing prizes and experiences – such as cost-free sole ownership of two thoroughbred racehorses for one year along with £30k cash and all the trappings of ownership.
Through their weekly lotto draws and regular raffles, The Racehorse Lotto aims to introduce more owners into the sport, while simultaneously making racehorse ownership more accessible to racing fans and raising money for charity in the process. Since launching in March 2020, the Racehorse Lotto has raised more than £60,000 for charitable causes and provided the opportunity for no less than 15 people to experience racehorse ownership.