The offering will go live in the coming weeks and will represent a new vertical in the country for the German lottery company – though it has experience in slots and online games from other international markets.

Helmut Becker, Zeal CEO, said: "We are very pleased about the trust placed in us by the national authority and are eager to be able to offer our online games very soon.

"With this licence, we reach an important milestone in our business strategy. We are convinced to be able to offer interested customers out there a great portfolio and new gaming experience."

Meanwhile, Julian Tietz, Managing Director of Zeal Instant Games, added: "Online games are becoming increasingly important and have established themselves in the international lottery and gaming industry. We are proud to finally offer our games in Germany after successful international collaborations."

Recently, Zeal announced it had joined World Lottery Association after the organisation accepted its membership.

Becker said of the move: "We are proud the WLA has accepted us as a member.

"As the German market leader for online lotteries, we take our responsibility in the areas of compliance, security and risk management very seriously and attach great importance to social commitments as well.”

Dr Joerg Hofmann recently spoke at length about the subject of European and particularly German regulations to Gambling Insider and why restricting markets can only lead people to black markets.