MERKUR: the German group behind Blueprint, and a land-based supplier in its own right
MERKUR is three things at once — a group, a retail brand and a B2B land-based supplier. The group was called Gauselmann until January 2024, and it owns both MERKUR GAMING and Blueprint Gaming.
The studio
Who MERKUR are
The first thing to untangle is the name, because MERKUR means three different things depending on context: the group, the consumer and arcade brand, and MERKUR GAMING, the B2B land-based supplier.
The group formerly known as the Gauselmann Group officially became MERKUR Group on 3 January 2024, after announcing the change in September 2023. Four independent trade outlets reported the completion on the same date.
The structure that matters for an online operator: MERKUR Group owns both MERKUR GAMING (land-based cabinets and content, based in Germany, parent entity adp MERKUR GmbH) and Blueprint Gaming (online slots, UK). They are sister companies. If you want MERKUR content online, Blueprint is usually the route.
MERKUR GAMING itself is a land-based business: slot content for cabinets, the cabinets themselves, multi-machine linked progressive systems and electronic roulette. No online casino, live casino or crash.
- Group renamed: Gauselmann Group → MERKUR Group, 3 January 2024
- MERKUR GAMING: land-based supplier, parent entity adp MERKUR GmbH
- Sister company: Blueprint Gaming — online slots, UK
- Produces: cabinets, land-based game content, linked progressives, e-roulette
- German base: Lübbecke, per its own news datelines
- Founded / employees: not published on reachable pages
- Licences: no numbers published
The games
MERKUR GAMING products
Only two product lines are evidenced on the pages we could reach, and we would rather list two real ones than pad the table.
| Product | Released | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| DIMENSION LINK | — | Linked progressive jackpot system; the Link suffix denotes the linked-progressive family |
| PAW LINK | — | Second linked progressive jackpot system in the same family |
| Cabinets | — | MERKUR GAMING manufactures its own cabinet range — the hardware as well as the content |
| Electronic roulette | — | Roulette systems for the casino and arcade floor |
No RTP figures are quoted — land-based returns are set per jurisdiction and per machine type. MERKUR GAMING’s full game index was not reachable, so we have not filled this table from directory sites. Note also that Eye of Horus, the title most often attributed to Merkur, could not be verified on either the Merkur or Blueprint sites.
What makes it different
Linked progressives, and a group that spans two businesses
What MERKUR sells is floor infrastructure, not individual games.
Linked progressive systems
DIMENSION LINK and PAW LINK pool a jackpot across banks of machines on a floor, so the prize grows from every machine in the bank rather than from one cabinet. It is the land-based equivalent of what Jackpot King does online, and it is the reason arcades buy from Merkur as a system rather than a title at a time.
Vertical integration
MERKUR GAMING builds the cabinet and authors the content that runs on it. Very few suppliers control both layers, and it means the games are designed to a specific screen geometry and control set rather than ported onto it.
The group structure
The commercially useful fact: MERKUR Group holds a land-based supplier and an online studio side by side. Content and themes have historically moved between them, though we could not verify that pipeline on a primary source, so treat it as likely rather than documented.
Electronic roulette
A distinct product line of roulette systems for the floor — a category that sits outside what almost every online-first supplier in this catalogue offers.
Where it runs
Where MERKUR operates
Territories and a country count are not published on the pages we could reach. Germany is the home market and the group’s arcade estate there is substantial.
One partnership surfaced in trade press: MERKUR and Gaming Arts, targeting North America. We could not date it, so we are not putting it on a timeline.
For an online operator the practical answer is that MERKUR-branded online content comes through Blueprint Gaming, which is licensed in Great Britain, Malta, Alderney and Gibraltar.
- No licence jurisdictions or numbers are published on the pages we could reach
- As a German land-based manufacturer, approvals run through machine-type certification rather than a B2B iGaming licence footer
- The group’s online licensing sits with Blueprint Gaming (UKGC account 6516, plus MGA, Alderney and Gibraltar)
- Group employee and revenue figures circulating online are not verified and are not repeated here
- The widely cited 1957 founding by Paul Gauselmann in Espelkamp could not be verified on a reachable primary source
Recent activity
MERKUR in the last 18 months
One dated item, and it hints at a second stage of the rebrand.
FAQ
MERKUR — common questions
Yes. The Gauselmann Group officially rebranded as MERKUR Group on 3 January 2024, having announced the change in September 2023. Anything describing a current Gauselmann Group is using the pre-2024 name.
They are sister companies under MERKUR Group. MERKUR GAMING is the German land-based supplier; Blueprint Gaming is the UK online slot studio. Neither owns the other, and Blueprint is the route to MERKUR-family content online.
MERKUR GAMING is a land-based business — cabinets, land-based game content, linked progressives and electronic roulette. Online content from the group comes through Blueprint Gaming.
Linked progressive jackpot systems. They pool a jackpot across a bank of machines on a floor, so the prize is fed by every machine in the bank rather than one cabinet. The Link suffix marks the family.
Not published on any page we could reach. The widely cited 1957 founding by Paul Gauselmann in Espelkamp is almost certainly right but we could not verify it against a primary source, so we are not stating it as fact.
No licence jurisdictions or numbers are published on the pages we could reach. As a German land-based manufacturer its approvals run through machine-type certification rather than an iGaming licence register. The group’s online licensing sits with Blueprint.
Because the name is a group, a consumer arcade brand and a B2B supplier brand at once, and because the group changed its name in 2024. Press coverage rarely disambiguates, so most profiles blur all three.
For online, through Blueprint Gaming, which sits in the IGP catalogue with 150+ other providers on one API and one wallet. Ask us and we will confirm what is available in your market.
Get MERKUR through one integration
MERKUR-family online content comes through Blueprint Gaming, available in the IGP catalogue on one integration with 150+ other providers.
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