Wire EMEA
Gauselmann Acquires Bührmann Arcades
Gauselmann Group is taking over control of Bührmann A + I, Play Fair Casino and Gerdes Spielkonzepte, which previously belonged to the Bührmann Group.
Te process for the takeover negotiations had to be interrupted several times due to the pandemic and was extended over almost two years.
GERMANY LAND-BASED
GERMANY – The flood damaged Bad Neuenahr casino will not be able to operate in Bad Neuenahr for three years and even then it will have to rebuilt in a different part of the town as effective protection at the original site is not longer available.
Michael Seegert, Managing Director of Spielbank Bad Neuenahr, said: "Due to mass destruction in the entire Ahr valley, and in particular in the city of Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, it seems that no casino will be able to operate in the city of Bad Neuenahr for a period of two to three years.
“The infrastructure has been completely destroyed, there is no restaurant or hotel business and all access roads up to the motorways have been massively damaged. There is an agreement between the state, district and city of Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler and the operating company that a casino should be built again in Bad Neuenahr, but no longer in the traditional Kurhaus, as effective protection is not possible there and it is irresponsible to operate a facility there."
The west wing of the casino has been severely damaged with its future deemed 'questionable' by structural engineers. The casino's slot machine section on the ground floor was flooded ceiling-high with the company's slot machines declared a total loss by insurance experts.
The casino also suffered a theft after the floods with chips and plaques stolen.
IRELAND – OneTouch has appointed Andre Villandberg as its new Head of Games. Mr. Villandberg, who has a varied background as a professional poker player and online casino
bonus hunter, has spent the last three years at Coingaming Group after initially joining the company as a Casino Manager.
Mr. Villandberg was then promoted to Head of Casino, playing a significant role in the rapid growth of
Sportsbet.io by developing the sportsbook’s casino. Prior to joining Coingaming, he provided insight as Gambling Expert at Relax Gaming.
DUBAI – Galaxy Racer , one of the fastest-growing esports organisations in the world, has announced the appointment of Danny Lopez as Chief Content Officer. Mr. Lopez has over six years
of experience at a senior level in esports and gaming, and will lead the development and implementation of global content strategy by creating entertainment across all areas of the business.
P14 WIRE / PULSE / INSIGHT / REPORTS
With effect from October 1, the East Westphalian Gauselmann Group is taking over control of Bührmann A + I GmbH, Play Fair Casino GmbH & Co. KG. and Gerdes Spielkonzepte GmbH & Co., which previously belonged to the Bührmann group of companies.
Tis means that the Gauselmann Group has secured 35 arcades and around 60 additional catering locations in Bremen and Lower Saxony, thereby increasing its presence in northern Germany. Te Bührmann Group is an owner- managed family company in the third generation and deeply rooted in the Bremen region.
Te group of companies, consisting of various individual companies from the Bührmann group of companies, is successfully established in the essential areas of real estate, catering, events, casinos and refrigeration logistics. Gauselmann is taking over the commercial game branch of the company.
Te process for the takeover negotiations had to be interrupted several times due to the
Veikkaus to shed 200 as it streamlines in pandemic response
Finland
Finland's government-owned gaming company Veikkaus is to axe up to 200 jobs after discussions with staff representatives, with up to 830 employees affected by new employment terms as new employment contracts are issued.
Veikkaus cited the current operating environment that “has changed over the past years with its business volume dropping requiring a'size adjustment to manning levels to make more efficient operations.”
It said it would be able to offer jobs at its new Casino Tampere when it opens in December.
Veikkaus Director of Channels and Sales, Jari Heino, said: “We will plan the changes in a way
pandemic and were extended over almost two years. Dieter Kuhlmann, Board Member for Gaming Operations, said: “Te Bremen region is particularly convenient for us, as we had to close many locations there in 2017 due to legal restrictions. With the acquisition of the arcades and the catering locations, we can compensate for at least some of the locations that were previously lost.”
Detlev Graß is and will continue to be the partner and managing director of Bührmann A + I GmbH. He will remain with the company with his expertise in operational business and will continue to devote himself to the political challenges of the industry as chairman of the Northwest German Automatenverband.
Mr. Kuhlmann added: “We as a company are also pleased that we can secure around 200 jobs through the acquisition. We value the skills and experience of the individual employees and want to build on them together.” An integration team from the Gauselmann Group will guarantee a smooth transition into the Merkur family.”
that emphasises our care for people in order that we can offer new jobs for as many Veikkaus employees as possible. One concrete example of this is Casino Tampere, to be opened in December, which has job openings for about 50 gaming industry professionals to work in a completely new type of a casino.”
Te coronavirus pandemic had a significant impact on Veikkaus’ business operations in 2020 with profit for the financial year down 36.6 per cent at €680.2m. Te company's slots were deactivated entirely or in part for a total of about five months. Gross Gaming Revenue for the financial year was down 25.5 per cent to €1,260.3m. Veikkaus estimates that the coronavirus epidemic reduced its Gross Gaming Revenue by more than €300m in 2020.
Veikkaus’ share of the total Finnish gambling market is approximately 80 per cent.
Portugal
Portugal's gambling regulator Serviço de Regulação Inspeção de Jogos has confirmed that online gambling revenue increased 81.9 per cent in Q2 of the year, reaching €125m. Te increase was fuelled by a 224.5 per cent increase in sports betting revenue, from €20.8m to €67.5m, due to a full sports calendar in 2021 after the disruption caused by COVID and by the European football championships. Football generated 77.5 per cent of all online sports bets, followed by tennis with 9.6 per cent and basketball with 8.7 per cent. Online gaming increased by 20 per cent to €57.5m, with slots accounting for 76 per cent of all casino bets. Te period saw 151,900 new players register online in Q2, with 93,600 self- excluding. Retail revenue increased to €30.6m, up 166.7 per cent from the second quarter of 2020 when all retail venues were closed due to the pandemic. Slots were up 159 per cent to €24.6m, whilst American roulette accounted for €1.5m in revenue.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128
