“Setting new standards in the field of responsible gaming”

How did the idea of Corporate Social Responsibility arose at Gauselmann?
CSR has played a major role in the company philosophy of the Eastern Westphalian Gauselmann Group for many years and is a true matter of heart for the entrepreneurial Gauselmann family. The company supports social, cultural and sporting institutions and clubs mainly in the region around Lübbecke in this way yet also further beyond, such as the famous ATP-500 Gerry Weber Open tennis tournament.

Paul Gauselmann was decorated with the German Federal Cross of Merit in 1993 for his outstanding social commitment as well as for his service within the German AWP industry. A decade later this was increased to the even more prestigious First Class of the German Federal Cross of Merit. Furthermore, on his 70th birthday in 2004, the towns of both Espelkamp and Lübbecke bestowed him the dignity of honorary citizenship for his untiring service to the region.

What do Gauselmann employees think about CSR tasks?
The CSR focus at present is mainly centered around the region of the company’s headquarters – in Espelkamp and Lübbecke (Eastern Westphalia) where a majority of its employees are also located. The exemplary company support has a great positive impact on the fields of sport, culture and social activities in this otherwise rural region.

Employees and their family members have the opportunity to spend their free time with like-minded people and do sport in the company sports association (BSG) Merkur Gauselmann e.V. The company sports association (BSG) Merkur Gauselmann e.V. provides the basis of the company’s sport and health promotion that has been expanded upon with further offers over decades. Today this is an important cornerstone of health management at Gauselmann AG. Enjoying sport and promoting a feeling of community were the foundation reasons for the BSG that was founded in 1983 and today counts approx. 1,000 members in 23 divisions and so is one of the largest in North Rhine-Westphalia.

The company places great attention also on the theme of health prophylaxis. Thus, Gauselmann initiates many campaigns around the subject of health and prophylaxis, such as flu vaccinations, giving blood or a stroke info tour through the region that already took place for the twelfth time. Many campaigns are carried out for both staff and the general public.

What are Gauselmann’s efforts with respect to undertaking CSR tasks?
Sport in particular is of great importance to the entrepreneurial family. Besides supporting many local clubs and sports events, the family sponsors the tennis club Espelkamp-Mittwald e.V. (TVE) in which Paul Gauselmann was part of the team to become German Champion in the age bracket 65 and also the handball federal league team TuS N-Lübbecke.

The Gauselmann family takes its social duties seriously as well. For example, Paul Gauselmann is active as long-term chairman of the charity ‘“Schlaganfall” – Neurologische Klinik Minden e.V. Förderverein’ (Charitable Trust for the Minden Stroke – Neurological Clinic). Furthermore, Paul Gauselmann set up the ‘Gauselmann Foundation’ on his 65th birthday which today has a nominal capital of EUR 5 million and whose proceeds are aimed at supporting social and cultural projects in the region.

Economic activities go hand-in-hand with ecological commitment at the Gauselmann Group. The group of companies has made use of regenerative energy for many years. Thus, a wind power turbine was installed in 1999 at the development and production location in Lübbecke. The photovoltaic system on the adp factory roof as well as on 14 CASINO MERKUR-SPIELOTHEK rooves underlines the pronounced environmental focus of the company. Furthermore, environmental protection has long since been a strong part of the operative daily routine within the Gauselmann Group. Organisational and technical processes within the company are continually optimised to save resources and reduce emissions. The importance of this subject is reflected in the certification of the development, production and sales departments at the adp Gauselmann GmbH according to the internationally valid environmental management norm DIN EN ISO 14001:2004.

There are also multifaceted examples of the cultural commitment at the Gauselmann Group. Alongside financially supporting regional projects, a further important contribution to maintaining the cultural heritage is related to the renovation of Schloss Benkhausen that is more than 500 years old. This was laboriously restored. Schloss Benkhausen now serves mainly as the company-internal Gauselmann Group training centre, yet also offers room for external events such as conferences, weddings and official events in the field of art and culture.

Michael Gauselmann laid the foundation stone in 1985 for the German Coin-Op Museum – Gauselmann Collection that today consists of approximately 1,800 historic exhibits from all around the world by purchasing coin-operated machines and researching their history. Armin Gauselmann has borne the responsibility for the museum since 1999 that is now housed since autumn 2013 in an ancillary building at Schloss Benkhausen. Visitors can see the approximately 200 rarities in its unique permanent exhibition and be enchanted by these silent witnesses of the entire industry and economic field.

In addition to this, a further aspect of CSR is the theme prevention and responsible gaming that has been a firm part of the company philosophy and internal guidelines for many years. The central prevention department was thus created in 2010 that coordinates and steers all responsible gaming measures within the company group as well advising management on all questions revolving around the themes of problematic gaming behaviour and gambling addiction.

In what way do Corporate Social Responsibility tasks connect Gauselmann with the rest of the chain?
All activities in the field of CSR are managed from the company headquarters in Espelkamp and Lübbecke in consultation with the entrepreneurial Gauselmann family. In this way also individual projects of the corresponding subsidiaries are integrated into the entire concept of the group of companies.

Bearing in mind Gauselmann has opened a new casino in Leuna, How are you planning to cope with CSR tasks?
The subject of prevention is an important CSR aspect for Merkur Spielbank Sachsen-Anhalt in Leuna-Günthersdorf just as much as for the Gauselmann Group.

A diverse and extensive information policy makes up the most important basis here in the field of responsible gaming. Affected persons and their family members can in this way gain access to comprehensive information in an uncomplicated way and so make use of offers of help. At the same time, members of staff are being constantly trained on the subjects of responsible gaming so as to be able to safely and confidently handle this subject for the benefit of the players and offer help when needed.

It was already during the opening phase at Merkur Spielbank Sachsen-Anhalt in Leuna-Günthersdorf that the responsible gaming measures were initiated with a certification procedure through the internationally acclaimed Global Gambling Guidance Group (G4) and the set of measures at the casino were reviewed by the G4 experts.

Spielbank Leuna was distinguished in January 2015 as the first European casino with the G4 certificate. This officially confirmed that the dedication of the company group in the field of responsible gaming conforms to the most stringent international demands. Spielbank Leuna is setting new standards in the field of responsible gaming with the certification and the recurring certification audits.