Wikipedia

Merkur Group

(Redirected from Gauselmann)

Merkur Group (officially Merkur.com AG, until 2023 known as Gauselmann Group) is a family-owned, internationally operating business group in the entertainment and leisure industry, founded in 1957 by Paul Gauselmann. The company, based in Espelkamp and Lübbecke, develops, manufactures and distributes slot machines, operates a chain of amusement arcades, and is also active in sports betting, online gaming, financial services and casinos.[3][4][5]

Merkur Group
Native name
Merkur.com AG
TypeVarious, including AG and GmbH
IndustryGambling, Slot machines, Online gaming, sports betting
Founded1957
FounderPaul Gauselmann
HeadquartersEspelkamp and Lübbecke, Germany
Area served
Europe
Key people
  • Lars Felderhoff (Chairman; Finance & Administration)
  • Manfred Stoffers (Vice Chairman; Communication, Public & Legal Affairs)
  • Dominik Raasch
    (Merkur Games)
  • Meik Sellenriek
    (Merkur Operations)
  • David Schnabel
    (Merkur Casinos)
  • Michael Gauselmann (Chairman of the Supervisory Board)
  • Jürgen Stühmeyer and Stefan Meyer (members of the Supervisory Board)[1]
Revenue€2.103 billion (2025)[2]
Number of employees
15,254 (2025)[2]
SubsidiariesPraesepe
Cashino
Website
Gauselmann Family Foundation
Formation21 December 2015
FounderPaul Gauselmann and family
PurposeHolding the voting shares in the Merkur Group and its companies
HeadquartersEspelkamp, Germany
Chair
Michael Gauselmann
Key people
Manfred Stoffers (deputy chair)
Jürgen Stühmeyer (member)
Janika Gauselmann (member)
WebsiteAuszug des Stiftungsregisters NRW

History

edit
The Merkur B was Paul Gauselmann's first self-developed amusement-with-prizes machine. It was launched in 1977. He chose the name Merkur because 1977 was the year of Mercury, the god of merchants and traders.

The telecommunications inspector Paul Gauselmann began working as an importer of amusement machines in Coesfeld in 1956. He later obtained a position in the development department of Harting in Espelkamp. There, Gauselmann designed electronic music and cigarette vending machines and became head of the development department for vending machines in 1960.[6]

Gauselmann's hobby, the development of jukeboxes, became a business in 1957, which he pursued alongside his main work at Harting. In 1958, Willi Gauselmann joined the business, followed by Eugen Gauselmann in 1962. The company subsequently operated under the name Gebrüder Gauselmann. In 1964, Paul Gauselmann left his work at Harting and worked only for his own company, which by then already had 15 employees. The business model was the installation of jukeboxes imported from the United States in restaurants and pubs.[6]

In 1970, Gauselmann founded Gauselmann Großhandel, which distributed machines made by third-party manufacturers.[6] After a machine manufacturer imposed a supply boycott in 1972, Gauselmann decided to develop his own gaming machines together with Friedel Horstmann. In 1972, Gauselmann founded adp Gauselmann GmbH and began developing his own gaming machine. In 1974, Gauselmann opened the first amusement arcade under the name Casino Merkur-Spielothek in Delmenhorst. Since then, the company has operated 800 amusement arcades under the Merkur brand.[7]

In December 1976, the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt approved Gauselmann's first gaming machine, which was distributed from 1977 under the name Merkur B. The companies of the then Gauselmann Group were combined in 1980 in what was then the holding company Gauselmann AG.[6] In 1985, the company recorded a 19% increase in revenue to 560 million Deutsche Mark, generated by 2,250 employees.[8] Since 1986, Gauselmann has operated outside Germany under the Merkur brand.[6] In the same year, the then Gauselmann Group generated nationwide revenue of 650 million Deutsche Mark and had more than 3,250 full-time employees and 69 trainees.[9]

After German reunification, the then Gauselmann Group recorded an increase in revenue. In 1991, annual revenue exceeded one billion Deutsche Mark for the first time.[10] In 1999, the Paul and Karin Gauselmann Foundation was established as a supporter of social and cultural projects.[11] In 2005, Merkur Gaming GmbH was created, taking over the development and distribution of amusement-with-prizes machines within the Gauselmann Group. The business was organisationally integrated into adp Gauselmann GmbH in 2015, while the Merkur brand name was retained.[6]

In autumn 2012, it acquired the British company Praesepe, headed by Nick Harding.[12]

In 2013, Gauselmann entered the casino sector with casinos in Saxony-Anhalt.[13] In 2016, Gauselmann received approval to operate casinos on cruise ships operated by TUI Cruises.[6] By 2017, Gauselmann had produced more than two million Merkur-brand gaming machines.[6]

In 2020, Gauselmann became the majority shareholder of the online betting provider Bede Gaming.[14]

In July 2021, the Merkur Group acquired the four WestSpiel casinos owned by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.[4] A fifth venue was established shortly thereafter in Monheim, between Cologne and Düsseldorf.[15][16]

As part of the digitalisation and internationalisation of the corporate group, the Gauselmann Group first renamed adp Gauselmann GmbH as adp Merkur GmbH in 2022[17] and, at the beginning of 2024, renamed Gauselmann AG as Merkur.com AG and the Gauselmann Group as the Merkur Group.[18]

On 27 April 2022, the company opened Germany's first licensed online amusement arcades, JackpotPiraten and BingBong, through its subsidiary DGGS Deutsche Gesellschaft für Glücksspiel mbH, on the basis of a licence under the 2021 Interstate Treaty on Gambling (GlüStV 2021).[19] Merkur Slots, Merkur Bets and Slotmagie are additional licensed offerings for the German market.[20]

On 1 October 2024, company founder Paul Gauselmann retired. Lars Felderhoff, who had previously been responsible for finance, real estate and human resources, succeeded him as spokesman of the executive board. His son Michael took over the chairmanship of the supervisory board and the foundation.[21]

On 1 July 2025, the Merkur Group took over the casinos in Lower Saxony from Casino Austria International.[22] In September 2025, the Merkur Group acquired the American software games company Gaming Arts.[23]

Corporate group

edit

Since 2016, the corporate group has been held by a family foundation of the former owner family, the Gauselmann family.[24] The founder of the corporate group is Paul Gauselmann, who was born in 1934 and was also spokesman of the executive board of the Aktiengesellschaft until October 2024. The brand name used by several companies in the group is Merkur. It was first used in 1977 for the Merkur B gaming machine.[25][26]

As of 31 December 2023, the Merkur Group held interests in 241 companies.[27] Slightly more than half of the companies in the Merkur Group are headquartered in Germany.[28]

The revenue of the entire Merkur Group for the 2025 financial year was €2.10 billion. At the end of the 2025 financial year, the Merkur Group employed 15,254 people worldwide.[2]

Sponsorship

edit

The Merkur Group acts as a sponsor throughout Germany. It holds, for example, the naming rights to the Merkur Spiel-Arena, where Fortuna Düsseldorf plays its home matches, and supports several clubs in German professional football, including RB Leipzig,[29] DSC Arminia Bielefeld,[30] and FC Schalke 04.[31] Outside sport, the Merkur Group is a partner of festivals in Germany, including Parookaville.[32][33] In March 2026, it became known that, from April 2026, the Merkur Group would sponsor the Merkur Ostseehalle in Kiel for ten years.[34]

Further reading

edit
  • Dickmann, Barbara (2017). Der Spielemacher: Paul Gauselmann, die Biographie; erzählt von Barbara Dickmann (in German). Berlin: Econ. ISBN 978-3-430-20246-6.

References

edit
  1. ↑ Geschäftsbericht 2024 der Merkur Group (PDF) (Report) (in German). Merkur Group. 2025. Retrieved 15 June 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 Geschäftsbericht 2024 der MERKUR GROUP (PDF) (Report) (in German). Merkur Group. 2025. Retrieved 15 June 2026.
  3. ↑ Hartmann, Guido M. (2021-07-30). "WestSpiel Casinos in NRW bekommen neuen Besitzer". Die Welt (in German). Retrieved 2026-06-15.
  4. 1 2 Stuke, Jörg (2021-12-22). "Das Casino wird kein Automatensaal". Neue Westfälische (in German). p. 13.
  5. ↑ "Business Figures". merkur.group. Retrieved 2026-06-15.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "1957 – 2017: 60 Jahre Gauselmann Gruppe / Vom Feierabend-Unternehmer in 60 Jahren zum Branchenprimus". Der Tagesspiegel (in German). 2017-06-13. Retrieved 2026-06-15.
  7. ↑ Spreen-Ledebur, Joern (2020-05-11). "Gauselmann begrüßt Wiedereröffnung von Spielhallen". Neue Westfälische (in German). Retrieved 2026-06-15.
  8. ↑ "Gauselmann-Gruppe. Mehr als 100 Spielotheken. Position weiter ausgebaut". Handelsblatt (in German). No. 177/1986. 1986-09-16. p. 18.
  9. ↑ "Gauselmann setzte 1987 ueber 700 Mill. DM um". Handelsblatt (in German). No. 21/1987. 1988-02-01. p. 17.
  10. ↑ "Gauselmann-Gruppe. Kraeftiger Personalabbau". Handelsblatt (in German). No. 187/1992. 1992-09-28. p. 1.
  11. ↑ "450.000 Euro für mehr als 225 Projekte – Die Paul und Karin Gauselmann-Stiftung zieht eine Bilanz der vergangenen zwei Jahre". Westfalen-Blatt (in German). 2021-11-27.
  12. ↑ "About Us". Praesepe. Archived from the original on 14 June 2019. Retrieved 15 June 2026.
  13. ↑ "Gauselmann Gruppe erhält Zuschlag im Vergabeverfahren um die Spielbanken in Nordrhein-Westfalen". Wirtschaft Regional (in German). 2021-07-21. Retrieved 2026-06-15.
  14. ↑ "Gauselmann acquires majority stake in Bede Gaming". iGB. 2020-03-12. Archived from the original on 2022-10-14. Retrieved 2025-08-22.
  15. ↑ Klaas, Isabel (2023-05-15). "Neue Spielbank für Monheim". IHK-Magazin (in German). Retrieved 2026-06-15.
  16. ↑ Schoog, Heike; Segovia Buendía, Cristina (2023-02-03). "Eröffnung im März: So sieht Monheims neue Spielbank aus". Rheinische Post (in German). Retrieved 2026-06-15.
  17. ↑ "adp merkur GmbH" (in German). Merkur Group. Retrieved 2026-06-15.
  18. ↑ "Gauselmann heißt nun Merkur" (in German). Merkur Group. 2024-01-01. Retrieved 2026-06-15.
  19. ↑ "Whitelist: Übersicht der erlaubten Glücksspielanbieter". Glücksspielbehörde (in German). Gemeinsame Glücksspielbehörde der Länder. Retrieved 2026-06-15.
  20. ↑ Kösters, Dennis (2024-11-15). "SlotMagie wird von der Merkur Group übernommen". Gamesbasis (in German). Retrieved 2026-06-15.
  21. ↑ "Glücksspiel-Pionier Gauselmann geht nach 67 Jahren in Rente". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). 2024-08-27. Retrieved 2026-06-15.
  22. ↑ Giesecke, Stephanie (2025-11-06). "Neuer Betreiber bringt Veränderungen". Wolfsburger Nachrichten (in German).
  23. ↑ "Glücksspielfirma Merkur kauft amerikanische Gamesfirma". Die Welt (in German). 2025-09-24.
  24. ↑ Frühauf, Andrea (2015-12-19). "Der Chef bleibt an der Spitze". Neue Westfälische (in German). Retrieved 2026-06-15.
  25. ↑ "Die Gauselmann-Gruppe". Casinoverdiener (in German). 2012. Retrieved 2026-06-15.
  26. ↑ Brunner, Gregor (2024-11-23). "Die neue Doppelspitze auf dem Merkur". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German).
  27. ↑ "Geschäftsbericht 2023". Northdata (in German). Retrieved 15 June 2026.
  28. ↑ Geschäftsbericht 2020 der Gauselmann-Gruppe (Report) (in German). Gauselmann-Gruppe. Retrieved 15 June 2026.
  29. ↑ Sale, Jessie (2024-08-21). "Merkur new sponsor of RB Leipzig". SBC News. Retrieved 2026-06-15.
  30. ↑ "Partnerschaft zwischen Arminia Bielefeld und Gauselmann AG um drei Jahre verlängert". Neue Westfälische (in German). 2018-06-07. Retrieved 2026-06-15.
  31. ↑ "Zum Saisonstart: Merkur Group aus Espelkamp wird neuer Sponsor des FC Schalke 04". Neue Westfälische (in German). 2025-08-01. Retrieved 2026-06-15.
  32. ↑ Glahn, Inga-Maria (2024-05-30). "Diese Marken dominieren den Festival-Sommer". Absatzwirtschaft (in German). Retrieved 2026-06-15.
  33. ↑ Cleve, Nicolai (2025-07-18). "Enjoy the game: Merkur mit besonderem Give-away". games & business (in German). Retrieved 2026-06-15.
  34. ↑ "Merkur Ostseehalle in Kiel: Der traditionsreiche Name kehrt zurück". Kieler Nachrichten (in German). 2026-03-13. Retrieved 2026-06-15.
edit
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Merkur_Group&oldid=1362054869"