* Company aims to preserve its 60 million eur in cash
* Says will wait until opportunities open up
* Shares up 1.2 percent
By Arno Schuetze
HANOVER, June 11 (Reuters) - German lottery service provider Tipp24 is not planning to expand its business in the near future and is aiming to preserve its cash instead, its chief executive told Reuters on Thursday.
"Within the next 12 months, no steps into new markets are planned," Jens Schumann said in an interview.
He said the company would keep its 60 million euro ($84.20 million) in cash until markets and new growth opportunities open up.
Schumann said that the company would stay away from business areas such as sporting bets or online poker, where companies such as bwin, Ladbrokes and William Hill are leading the field.
Shares in the company were 1.2 percent higher in thin trade in Germany at 1207 GMT, while Frankfurt's smallcap index SDAX was up 0.2 percent.
Tipp24 -- which generated about 25 million euros ($35.08 million) in sales in the first quarter -- will join the small-cap index SDAX effective June 22. ($1=.7126 Euro) (Reporting by Arno Schuetze; Editing by Jon Loades-Carter)