Overview
- The supervisory board unanimously backed CDU politician Christian Baldauf on May 28, ending the plan to install two managing directors at the company.
- SPD-nominated candidate Hendrik Hering withdrew after public criticism and uneven leaks that revealed Baldauf’s name first and Hering’s only days later.
- SPD negotiator Alexander Schweitzer publicly said the communication around the personnel decision 'was not good' and acknowledged a damaging imbalance in how names were disclosed.
- Longtime managing director Jürgen Häfner left at the end of May and Baldauf is set to assume the post in early June to lead the firm’s growth, digitalization and player-protection efforts.
- The company is 51 percent state-owned, reported roughly €424 million revenue for 2025, and the episode has renewed scrutiny of political appointments, executive pay and oversight of lottery funds distributed to social and cultural causes.