Merkur Group (formerly known as Gauselmann Group) is a

family-owned A family business is a commercial organization in which decision-making is influenced by multiple generations of a family, related by blood, marriage or adoption, who has both the ability to influence the vision of the business and the willingn ...

, internationally operating business group in the

entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and Interest (emotion), interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but it is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have deve ...

and

leisure industry The leisure industry is the segment of business focused on recreation, entertainment, sports, and tourism (REST)-related products and services. The field has developed to the point of having university degrees and disciplines focused on it, such ...

, founded in 1957 by Paul Gauselmann. The

umbrella brand Umbrella branding (also known as family branding) is a marketing practice involving the use of a single brand name for the sale of two or more related products. Umbrella branding is mainly used by companies with a positive brand equity (value ...

of the Gauselmann Group is Merkur. The company, based in

Espelkamp Espelkamp () is a town in the Minden-Lübbecke district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Espelkamp is situated approximately 10 kilometers north of Lübbecke and 20 kilometers north-west of Minden. The is located on the site of a ...

and

Lübbecke Lübbecke (; ) is a town in northeast North Rhine-Westphalia in north Germany. This former county town lies on the northern slopes of the Wiehen Hills (''Wiehengebirge'') and has around 26,000 inhabitants. The town is part of district of Minden- ...

, develops, produces, and distributes entertainment gaming devices with and without the possibility of winning money. They also operate a chain of gaming arcades and work in the areas of

sports betting Sports betting is the activity of predicting sports results and placing a wager on the outcome. Sports bettors place their wagers either legally, through a sportsbook or bookmaker (colloquially known as "bookies"), or illegally through priva ...

, online gaming, financial services, and

casino A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...

History

In autumn 2012, it acquired the British company

Praesepe The Beehive Cluster (also known as Praesepe (Latin for "manger", "cot" or "crib"), M44, NGC 2632, or Cr 189), is an open cluster in the constellation Cancer. One of the nearest open clusters to Earth, it contains a larger population of stars tha ...

, headed by Nick Harding.

Group

As of December 31, 2020, the Merkur Group has stakes in 212 companies. In the 2020 fiscal year, after a temporary

lockdown A lockdown () is a restriction policy for people, community or a country to stay where they are, usually due to specific risks that could possibly harm the people if they move and interact freely. The term is used for a prison protocol that us ...

due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, the total business volume of the various business areas was €1.83 billion, around €770 million less than the previous year.Florian Langenscheidt, Peter May (Hrsg.): ''Lexikon der deutschen Familienunternehmen.'' 3. Auflage, Springer Gabler, Wiesbaden 2020, , p. 263. The Merkur Group has an export share of around 60%.Florian Langenscheidt, Peter May (Hrsg.): ''Lexikon der deutschen Familienunternehmen.'' 3. Auflage, Springer Gabler, Wiesbaden 2020, , p. 267 As of the end of the 2019 fiscal year, the Merkur Group employed around 14,000 people worldwide, including 250 apprentices, dual students, and interns. As of December 31, 2020, the number of employees was 13,029. The Merkur Group is involved in casinos in GermanyJörg Stuke: Das Casino wird kein Automatensaal, Neue Westfälische - Bad Oeynhausener Kurier, 22. Dezember 2021, p. 13 and operates casinos on

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports of call, where passengers may go on Tourism, tours k ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gauselmann Online gambling companies of Germany Gambling in the United Kingdom