MERKUR SPECIAL
1986. The international arcades operate under the brand of the CASINO MERKUR International subsidiary. Today, the group runs in excess of 600 entertainment centres Europe- wide. In 1976, the entrepreneur from Espelkamp revolutionised the market for amusement with prizes (AWP) machines when he was granted the licence for his first proprietary gaming machine, the Merkur B. By 1984, the Gauselmann Group had become market leader with a more than 50 per cent market share. In 1980, Paul Gauselmann founded Gauselmann AG as a holding company for many of the companies that had been formed by then.
From the 1990s, internationalisation
proceeded apace and the Gauselmann Group grew to become a leading international AWP and vending machine developer and manufacturer and entertainment centre operator. Today, development and sales of gaming machines and casino slot machines in the international markets is organised under the umbrella of adp Gauselmann GmbH with its Merkur Gaming sales brand. From a manufacturer of classic electrical/mechanical reel-based machines, the Gauselmann Group has advanced to become a provider of highly- developed electrical multigamers. In the course of the past four decades, more than two million gaming machines made by Merkur have rolled off the production line in Lübbecke. The Gauselmann Group has another production site in Mechernich, the headquarters of the GeWeTe Geldwechsel- und Sicherheitstechnik GmbH subsidiary. The company manufactures money management systems and payment terminals for municipalities. Moreover, the HESS Cash Systems subsidiary in Magstadt (near Stuttgart) also develops hardware and software solutions for banks, public amenities, retail companies and casinos as German market leader.
At around the turn of the millennium, the Gauselmann Group increased its focus on developing new business segments, leading to the company’s entry into the sports betting market in 2006. Today, this business segment offers and brokers sports bets under the brand names Cashpoint (Austria and Denmark) and XTiP (Germany) and serves international markets.
The biggest acquisition in the history of the Gauselmann Group to date was made in 2012 with the British arcade chain Praesepe, which employs a staff of around 1,750 and operates some 180 entertainment centres in the UK. Another major expansion followed in 2017 with the integration by CASINO MERKUR International of 127 Balkan Bet outlets in
62 SEPTEMBER 2017
Serbia, adding more than 1,000 new employees to the payroll.
Since 2013, the Gauselmann Group has also
been very successful in the casino segment. In December 2014, in partnership with Stadtcasino Baden AG, the first Merkur Spielbank Saxony-Anhalt was opened in Leuna-Günthersdorf. A second Merkur Spielbank opened its doors in Magdeburg in April 2016. The two locations are considered the most modern casinos in Germany. After acquiring a 40 per cent equity stake in Germany’s largest casino in Berlin, the Gauselmann Group has played an active role since the beginning of 2016 as shareholder in the development of the five licensed Spielbank locations in the German capital. In the business year 2016, the Gauselmann Group expanded its gaming offering from land onto the sea. Under the brand name CASINO MERKUR MARE (CMM), the Gauselmann Group operates casinos on the four cruise ships of leading international cruise line Pullmantur Cruceros.
For many decades, the company and the coin-op sector in general have ensured that people’s desire to play has been kept in check in a coordinated manner. This includes extensive protection of players and minors, an area in which the Gauselmann Group is seen as a pioneer. In cooperation with leading companies for biometric control systems, the company has developed the FACE-CHECK automatic admission control system for arcades, which with the help of biometric data ensures the exclusion of barred players and minors under the age of 18. The Gauselmann Group set the course for
the future in the online gaming segment in 2008. Currently, the edict eGaming subsidiary offers comprehensive online casino solutions featuring an extensive portfolio of games for online gaming providers. Furthermore, the Gauselmann Group also offers its popular games via numerous online channels.
Since 1 January 2016, the Gauselmann
Group has operated under the mantle of the Gauselmann Family Foundation. With this step, the Gauselmann family of entrepreneurs has paved the way for the Gauselmann Group’s long-term and stable future as an employer and driving force for the economy. As sole shareholder of the Gauselmann Group, the Gauselmann Family Foundation from now on makes all the fundamental and strategic decisions needed to ensure the group’s long- term commercial success.
To ensure the organisation is well-positioned
to meet future challenges, the Gauselmann Group has optimised the structure of its business segments, splitting them into the four pillars Merkur, Gaming operations, Sports betting and Online gaming & Financial Services. Despite increasing sales revenues and a corresponding rise in the number of jobs, the situation on the German home market is difficult due to the “Glücksspieländerungsstaatsvertrag” (First Amended Interstate Gambling Treaty) and the respective state arcade laws. As a result of the legislation many arcades in Germany continue to be directly threatened by closure. Consequently, foreign sales have risen steadily for the past several years and in the ongoing business year will for the first time account for substantially more than 50 per cent.
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
