In July 2021, the company filed a licence application with the Saxony-Anhalt State Administration Office, an application which has – a little over one year later – borne fruit.
The Gauselmann Group has now received permission to make its virtual slots offering, under the Merkur Spiel brand, available to players.
As a result, the company has joined a select few who are currently permitted to do so in Germany following the country’s new regulations.
The new Interstate Treaty on Gambling came into force last year and established a nationwide licensing procedure for virtual slot machine games and online poker.
However, Germany’s new regulatory regime has proved contentious, with Kindred’s Unibet brand staging a high-profile exit over issues surrounding the market’s licence application procedures.
But local operator Gauselmann appears to have fared better. For example, the group is one of a few already connected to the “LUGAS” cross-state gambling supervision system.
When combined with the company’s recent virtual slots approval, Gauselmann seems to have wholeheartedly embraced Germany’s new regulatory environment.
“We have been waiting in the wings for some time with our range of virtual slot machine games under the ‘Merkur Spiel’ brand,” said Markus Ettlin, Management Spokesperson of Merkur Sportwetten GmbH.
“So we are all the more enthusiastic that we can now offer our online players the chance to enjoy the same Merkur classics that have been played millions of times at our brick-and-mortar venues.
“This approval is an important and big step for us towards becoming the best omni-channel provider in the whole of Europe.”
