{{Short description|German gaming and gambling company}} {{multiple issues| {{notability|Companies|date=January 2019}} {{primary sources|date=January 2019}} }} {{Infobox company | name = Merkur Group | image = Falk Oberdorf Gauselmann.JPG | location_city = [[Espelkamp]] | location_country = Germany | key_people = [[Paul Gauselmann]] (founder) | area_served = Europe | industry = [[Gambling]] | revenue = {{increase}} [[Euro|€]]2.56 billion (2020)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://igamingbusiness.com/gauselmann-reports-6-7-revenue-growth-in-fy19/|title=Gauselmann reports 6.7% revenue growth in FY19|date=September 2020|accessdate=19 January 2021|publisher=iGB}}</ref> | num_employees = {{increase}} 13,846 (2020) | subsid = [[Praesepe (company)|Praesepe]]<br> Cashino | homepage = {{url|https://www.merkur.com/}} }} '''Merkur Group''' (formerly known as '''Gauselmann Group''') is a [[Family business|family-owned]], internationally operating business group in the [[Entertainment#Industry|entertainment]] and [[leisure industry]], founded in 1957 by [[Paul Gauselmann]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Paul Gauselmann & family |url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/paul-gauselmann/|access-date=2023-05-02|website=Forbes|language=en}}</ref> The [[umbrella brand]] of the Gauselmann Group is Merkur. The company, based in [[Espelkamp]] and [[Lübbecke]], develops, produces, and distributes entertainment gaming devices with and without the possibility of winning money. They also operate a chain of [[Electro-mechanical game|gaming arcades]] and work in the areas of [[sports betting]], [[Online game|online gaming]], financial services, and [[casino]]s.
==History== In autumn 2012, it acquired the British company [[Praesepe (company)|Praesepe]], headed by Nick Harding.<ref name=Praesepe>{{cite web|title=About Us|url=http://praesepeplc.com/history-of-the-company/|website=Praesepe|accessdate=22 April 2015|archive-url=https://archive.today/20150422154018/http://praesepeplc.com/history-of-the-company/|archive-date=22 April 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2020, Gauselmann became the majority shareholder of the online betting provider Bede Gaming.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20221014094803/https://igamingbusiness.com/casino-games/gauselmann-acquires-majority-stake-in-bede-gaming/ "Gauselmann acquires majority stake in Bede Gaming"]. ''iGB''. 2020-03-12. Archived from [https://igamingbusiness.com/casino-games/gauselmann-acquires-majority-stake-in-bede-gaming/ the original] on 2022-10-14. Retrieved 2025-08-22.</ref>
== Group == As of December 31, 2020, the Merkur Group has stakes in 212 companies.<ref name="KP2017">{{Cite web|url=http://gauselmann.de/Dokumente/Kurzportr%C3%A4t-Der-Gauselmann-Gruppe-2017.pdf|title=Kurzporträt 2017 der Gauselmann-Gruppe|access-date=2023-05-08|archive-date=2018-07-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180715011510/http://gauselmann.de/Dokumente/Kurzportr%C3%A4t-Der-Gauselmann-Gruppe-2017.pdf|url-status=dead }}</ref>
In the 2020 fiscal year, after a temporary [[Lockdown#COVID-19 pandemic|lockdown]] due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], the total business volume of the various business areas was €1.83 billion, around €770 million less than the previous year.<ref name="LDF_263">Florian Langenscheidt, Peter May (Hrsg.): ''Lexikon der deutschen Familienunternehmen.'' 3. Auflage, Springer Gabler, Wiesbaden 2020, {{ISBN|978-3-658-31846-8}}, p. 263.</ref> The Merkur Group has an export share of around 60%.<ref name="LDF_267">Florian Langenscheidt, Peter May (Hrsg.): ''Lexikon der deutschen Familienunternehmen.'' 3. Auflage, Springer Gabler, Wiesbaden 2020, {{ISBN|978-3-658-31846-8}}, p. 267</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Gauselmann AG, Espelkamp|url=https://www.northdata.de/Gauselmann+AG,+Espelkamp/Amtsgericht+Bad+Oeynhausen+HRB+9171|access-date=2023-05-08|website=www.NorthData.de|language=de}}</ref>
The Merkur Group is involved in casinos in Germany<ref name="Gauselmann">{{cite web|access-date=2020-08-07|date=2020-07-30|title=Gauselmann Group takes over WestSpiel casinos|url=https://www.welt.de/regionales/nrw/article232819209/WestSpiel-Casinos-in-NRW-bekommen-neuen-Besitzer.html}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref><ref name="Stuke">Jörg Stuke: Das Casino wird kein Automatensaal, Neue Westfälische - Bad Oeynhausener Kurier, 22. Dezember 2021, p. 13</ref> and operates casinos on [[cruise ship]]s.
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gauselmann}} [[Category:Online gambling companies of Germany]] [[Category:Gambling in the United Kingdom]]