Central Europe
German Games Market Stabilises at a High Level
Following major increases in sales revenue in both 2020 and 2021, the German games market stabilised at a high level in 2022 – that was the conclusion offered by game – the German Games Industry Association when presenting the market data from surveys carried out by market research companies GfK and data.ai. Whereas the Covid-19 pandemic had resulted in annual growth of 32% and 17% respectively, in 2022 sales revenue generated by games, gaming hardware and charges for online services rose by an additional 1% to 9.87 billion euros.
“The German games market was amazingly stable in 2022 despite various challenges. Following the strong growth achieved in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, many people had expected sales revenue to decline in 2022, for example due to the high rate of inflation over the course of the year, the decline in time spent playing games, or the many games whose release dates had been postponed. In light of these circumstances, the 1% growth achieved in 2022 is yet another sign of the industry’s success as the German games market manages to consolidate its gains near the ten-billion-euro mark,” said Felix Falk, Managing Director of game – the German Games Industry Association.
Even the number of video game players has managed to stabilise at a high level following the growth achieved in the Covid-19 years: approximately six out of every ten people between the ages of six and 69 in Germany play games. There is also little difference according to gender, with women making up 48% of video game players in Germany, and men 52%. As has been the case in recent years, the average age once again rose slightly and is now 37.9 years. In all, 78% of players in Germany are at least 18 years old.
Sales revenue from online gaming services is growing, while demand for gaming hardware has declined somewhat.
As with the market overall, the market segment devoted to games for PCs, game consoles and mobile devices has remained stable. For computer and video games (−1% to approximately 1.1 billion euros) as well as in-game and in-app purchases (+2% to approximately 4.5 billion euros), sales revenue figures were similar to last year’s. These include season passes, additional levels, cosmetic items (for example skins) and subscription fees for individual online games. In total, sales revenue from games for PCs, game consoles and mobile devices grew by roughly 1% to 5.5 billion euros in 2022.
The online gaming services market segment experienced yet another year of strong growth, with sales revenue from these services increasing by 20% to 866 million euros. Among the categories in this segment are fee-based subscription services that provide access to a large selection of games, cloud-based games, online multiplayer functions, and the ability to save game progress in the cloud. This market segment has enjoyed particularly dynamic growth. This is demonstrated not only by the large increase in sales revenue, but also by the wide range of gaming services on offer. Even though some large providers discontinued certain services last year, other services were expanded and revamped. As a result, numerous online gaming services have long since begun offering a range of functions – thereby rendering the old distinctions between online gaming services, subscription gaming services and cloud gaming services obsolete. Examples of these services include EA Play, Nintendo Switch Online, PlayStation Plus, Xbox Game Pass and Ubisoft+.
One of the most significant growth drivers in recent years has been gaming hardware, including gaming PCs, game consoles and the corresponding accessories. Following huge leaps in growth of 30 and 18% in the past two years, 2022 saw this market segment decline slightly, by around 3% to 3.5 billion euros. Reasons for this fall in revenues include the fact that game consoles like PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X as well as the latest graphic cards were not available across the board. In addition, the major growth of the past two years means that numerous video game players already own the very latest gaming hardware.
Central Europe
Brightstar Lottery Upgrades Retail Central System for Lotto Saxony in Germany via New Seven-Year Contract

Brightstar Lottery PLC announced that it will deploy its comprehensive retail central system technology, Aurora, along with advanced cloud-based software for Sächsische Lotto-GmbH (Lotto Saxony) in the State of Saxony, Germany via a seven-year contract. The contract was awarded to Brightstar following a competitive public procurement.
“The quality and reliability of Brightstar’s world-class lottery technology and operational support, along with its team’s knowledge of Lotto Saxony’s business needs are some of the reasons why we have partnered with the Company for 30 years. We look forward to upgrading our central system to Brightstar’s sophisticated platform and the many benefits its components will produce,” said Herr Frank Schwarz, Lotto Saxony Chief Executive Officer.
“This new seven-year contract marks an exciting chapter for Brightstar and Lotto Saxony as we work together to modernize lottery solutions throughout the state. Brightstar’s high-performing central system and peripherals will enable Lotto Saxony to manage its business more efficiently with the confidence in knowing the technology is secure, dependable, and responsible,” said Marco Tasso, Brightstar Chief Operating Officer International and Italy Operations.
An integral part of OMNIA, Brightstar’s player-centric, omnichannel solution for lotteries, Aurora helps drive lottery innovation and profitability. The platform will provide intuitive, user-friendly applications, tools and reporting capabilities to handle Lotto Saxony’s transaction processing, game management and back-office operations. Lotto Saxony will receive key cloud-based Aurora products including, Anywhere, to securely connect external applications to the retail system, and Performance Wizard, to deliver targeted insights and analytics.
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Central Europe
Interwetten becomes team partner of SK Rapid

Yellow and black meets green and white! Interwetten becomes SK Rapid’s new team partner. The online sports betting pioneer and Austria’s most popular football club are starting the new season together. The combination with Rapid coach Peter Stöger, who has been an Interwetten expert for many years and will also remain on the sidelines, makes the partnership a real success.
With more than 24,000 club members and over 220 official fan clubs, the Austrian record champions boast the largest fan base in the country! And with the Allianz Stadium in Vienna’s West Hütteldorf, the Green-Whites boast a modern home! Interwetten is expanding its extensive football commitment to include a traditional club and will now be present at SK Rapid’s home games on a ball display or 3D carpet in the stadium, as well as on the Hütteldorf club’s digital channels.
“We are very pleased about the new team partnership with SK Rapid. The connection to a club with great charisma and passion is a perfect fit for Interwetten. And the best part: With our long-time expert Peter Stöger, we already have Rapid’s coach on board ,” explains Interwetten Marketing Director Dieter Grück , who promises fans a comprehensive experience in addition to betting.
Grück adds : “We are planning various digital activations throughout the season that will offer our customers and Rapid fans unique experiences. This will certainly include exclusive promotions with Peter Stöger. With this, we want to underline our connection with Austrian football.”
SK Rapid Managing Director Steffen Hofmann warmly welcomes the sports betting provider to the green and white partner family. “This partnership is a strong signal and demonstrates the trust placed in our club. Together, we are planning innovative activations and are convinced that the collaboration will be very successful. I am delighted that Interwetten is now part of the large green and white partner family.”
The post Interwetten becomes team partner of SK Rapid appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Central Europe
Scientific Games and Polish National Lottery Continue 20-Year Scratchcard Tradition as Sales Grow

Scientific Games will continue to bring exciting instant scratchcard games to Polish National Lottery players through a new agreement with Totalizator Sportowy. Celebrating the instant lottery’s 25th anniversary last year, Totalizator Sportowy is among the top five performing instant game lotteries in Europe (La Fleur’s 2025 World Lottery Almanac). The world’s largest lottery games company has provided scratchcards to Totalizator Sportowy for more than 20 years, with scratchcard game sales in Poland growing by 20% over the past three years (2022 to 2025).
“Our goal is to give our players entertaining scratchcard experiences while responsibly generating maximum proceeds for Polish sport and culture. We are delighted to continue working with Scientific Games to offer fun, modern scratch experiences,” said Katarzyna Woznica-Borkowska, Manager of Instant Products for Totalizator Sportowy.
Most recently, Scientific Games collaborated with Totalizator Sportowy to offer Polish players the PLN30 GIGA 7 game produced with the company’s advanced Dimension technology, which enhances the play experience with three-dimensional, reflection-at-different-angle refractions above and below the game graphics.
Currently, the company provides instant games to 110 government-regulated lotteries worldwide, including more than 50 European lotteries.
“Scientific Games is honored to continue our longtime relationship with Totalizator Sportowy that we have built across two decades,” said Paul Dures, Lottery Sales Director EMEA for Scientific Games. “We look forward to continuing our work to drive meaningful growth for the scratchcard games in Poland creating more innovative and attractive games for players.”
With products that generate more than 70% of global instant game retail sales, Scientific Games is the world’s largest instant games creator, producer and services provider, and the primary provider to nine of the Top 10 performing instant game lotteries in the world (La Fleur’s 2025 World Lottery Almanac).
The post Scientific Games and Polish National Lottery Continue 20-Year Scratchcard Tradition as Sales Grow appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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