Merkur Interactive

Merkur Interactive GmbH is a part of the Gauselmann Group which traces its beginnings to 1957 when founder, Paul Gauselmann, became an AWP (amusement with prizes) and amusement machine operator in addition to his "regular job". He is now known as “pope of the amusement business” and “Germany’s AWP king”. edict egaming GmbH is a further subsidiary of Merkur Interactive who are responsible for software and game systems for online casinos providing Merkur games. The Merkur name comes from one of Gauselmann's ventures in 1974 when he opened the first "Merkur-Spielothek" which is seen by many as the invention of the modern arcade. It is now the largest chain in Germany and is complimented by Merkur Casino with outlets in ten European countries including the Merkur Casino Amsterdam.

Another important holding of the Gauselmann group, and thus important to any discussion of Merkur Interactive, is BluePrint Gaming. The Blueprint Gaming group started in Atlanta, Georgia, USA in 2001 and the Gauselmann Group attained a controlling interest in 2008. Blueprint is very active in producing digital games for the UK market and works with most of the important makers and operators there. Blueprint also produces many online games such as the wildly popular Casper’s Mystery Mirror and Bejeweled 2 slots games.

Merkur Interactive Games

Merkur offers about 35 games online. All of the games are delivered in full high definition and no software download is required to play the games as long as you have the latest version of Flash installed on your operating system. As of this writing (November 2012) all of them are available at Sunmaker casino in English, Deutsch, and Polish. The table games offerings include American and French roulette, Sic Bo and craps in three versions each. Players can choose the Classic version, Pro, or High Roller interfaces each with their own table limits and amenities. Card games include Baccarat, Blackjack Lucky Pair, Blackjack Lucky Seven, Blackjack Surrender 2 against 1, and Blackjack Twins - each with three felts. Unique or fixed-odds games include Magic Roulette, Lotto, Las Vegas Poker, and Classic Bingo.

The online Merkur slots selection consists of more than 25 games including the gambling hall favorite Triple Chance, which has been upgraded for online play with the release of Double Triple Chance - a three reel slot that can fill the screen with the same symbol at least twice in a row. Video slots include the popular 5 reel, 5 line Gold of Persia and Dragon's Treasure as well as more recent releases like Amazonia. Some of the features of this 30 payline slot include a bet range of 0.02 to 2.00 per line, wild symbols with a payout of up to 20,000.00, Scatters and Mystery Scatters and free spins with up to a 5x multiplier during free games. Another interesting feature of Merkur video slots is that after any win players may collect the coins, or gamble them on either a standard 'beat the dealer's card' gamble game or a gamble ladder. Gamble half or all of any win. Collect after any successful gamble or try again up to the limit.

Merkur Interactive Security

Cash management, user administration, and player support are handled by Merkur subsidiary edict egaming GmbH of Hamburg. The Gauselmann Group operates in 10 European countries under the most stringent regulatory requirements. Sunmaker casino is licensed by the Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission under the business name of Sun.Gaming IOM Limited and is listed on the gov.im website as a company in good standing. They offer a comprehensive Data Protection policy on their website. The games and Random Number Generator are tested by an Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission certified testing house. Te portal is continuously monitored in terms of compliance with Isle of Man regulations.

Conclusion

We see this pioneer of European gaming becoming more well known for thier excellent online games in the near future. With such a solid reputation in the arcade and land casino business as well as sports betting (Gauselmann Group entity, Merkur Interactive Italia S.p.A., opened 76 sports betting shops and acquired 157 sports betting kiosk licenses in North and Central Italy) we see Merkur as an up and coming giant in the online industry and can suggest them to our players with no hesitation. The game selection is good, some of the slots have phenomenal winning potential and the company is rock solid.