Gauselmann Group sales increase 14.2% in 2016

Althought the board of directors pointed out that last financial year closed on "an extremely positive note", the company expressed its concerns over the current legal restrictions in Germany.

"As a result of the Glücksspieländerungsstaatsvertrag (“First Amended Interstate Gambling Treaty”) and the respective state arcade laws, the situation on the German home market is difficult," said the official statement.

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All in all, the Gauselmann Group achieved a good result in 2016, said Paul Gauselmann, Chairman of the Management Board of the Gauselmann Group.

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What the raw numbers do not reveal, however, is that as a result of the legislation many arcades in Germany continue to be directly threatened by closure. Although for the past 65 years the Gauselmann Group and the coin-op sector in general have ensured that people’s desire to play has been kept in check in a coordinated manner.” 

This includes extensive protection of players in cooperation with leading companies for biometric control systems. The company has developed the FACE-CHECK automatic admission control system for arcades, which with the help of biometric data ensures the exclusion of barred players and minors under the age of 18.

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Gauselmann Group was able to grow through further acquisitions in the financial year 2016

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Sales increased by 23.6 per cent from 673 million euros in 2015 to 832 million euros in 2016. To ensure the organisation is well-positioned to meet future challenges, the Gauselmann Group has optimised the structure of its business segments, splitting them into the four pillars “Merkur”, “Gaming operations”, “Sports betting” and “Online gaming”.