Merkur Gaming
Merkur Gaming is a bit of an outlier in the online gaming industry as its one of the very few online slots developers based in Germany. Merkur’s history in the gaming world actually pre-dates the Internet as the company was one of the biggest manufacturers of land-based casino equipment in Europe. Merkur’s parent company, the Gauselmann Group, is one of the biggest gaming companies in the world. Over the last few years Merkur has become more and more involved with online play and has been porting over some of its classic brick & mortar games to the online arena.
Lovers of classic slots will likely enjoy Merkur games as the company has perfected the old-fashioned reel style with a large variety of fruit machines to play. Merkur isn’t living in the dark ages, however, and plenty of its newer machines have decent graphics and run on the lauded HTML5 platform, which means instant play on any device from a desktop computer to mobile device.
The games don’t really compare to the new-wave, video game style slots that are coming out of Sweden these days but they aren’t dinosaurs either. Anyone who has frequented a European land-based casino will be especially intrigued by Merkur as the company has produced some of the most famous slots on the continent and adapted them for online play.
Software
All Merkur games run in-browser and are available for instant play. The majority of Merkur games are also running on HTML5, which means players get access to cross platform play. Merkur games run smoothly on desktop machines including Windows-based PCs and Apple computers running MacOS. Thanks to HTML5, the majority of Merkur games also run very smoothly on Android and iOS devices including iPads and iPhones. Keep in mind that any of the games still running on Flash technology will be limited to desktop play only.
The graphics on Merkur are quite good with vibrant colors and beautiful frames but they don’t really compare to some of the more video game-esque efforts you’ll find on some of the up-and-coming online-only casino developers. Some of the Merkur art assets are surprisingly old and every now and then you’ll run into a 3D icon in one of the spinners that looks like its from the 1990s.
On the other hand, the sound effects are quite strong on Merkur products and they manage to capture the thrill of hitting a jackpot in a live casino with some of the best blips and bings you’ll ever hear.
Overview of Merkur Products
While Merkur produces a large variety of gaming machines for land-based casinos, its online portfolio is comprised entirely of slots. That means you won’t find any table games or bingo in the Merkur software package. Fortunately, Merkur does offer a large number of slots to keep players busy.
Slots
Merkur has a gigantic collection of slots to its name with close to 100 different slots available to play. There are very few gaming companies that offer such a large amount of slots and it’s wild to think that you could play on Merkur for over three months and not play the same game twice (provided you played one game a day)! The majority of games on Merkur are ports of the company’s popular land-based games.
Some of the most popular games include Magic Mirror, 77777, Eye of Horus, Tahiti Feeling, Honey Bee and Triple Chance. There are also a number of line options on Merkur with plenty of regular three-line games as well as five-line ones too. The fruit machines are a particular speciality at Merkur gaming with Fancy Fruits, Fruit Mania, Fantastic Fruit, Candy and Fruits, Fruitopia among the most popular. There’s basically always fresh fruit to be had on Merkur.
For our money we like Gold of Persia, which is the kind of vintage-looking slot that Merkur has perfected.
Table Games
Merkur does not offer any table games and instead sticks entirely to slots when it comes to online play.
Live Casino
There is no live casino on offer at Merkur although the company certainly produces plenty of equipment for land-based casinos.
Non-Casino Offerings
It’s not near as publicized as slots but Merkur actually produces a number of online lotteries for countries around the world. Merkur has gaming licenses around the world so its very easy for the company to operate internationally. The Gauselmann Group also handles sports betting in some jurisdictions.
Merkur Gaming’s History
Merkur Gaming and its parent company, the Gauselmann Group, has a history that spans all the way back to 1957 when Paul Gauselmann entered the gaming business. One could say that Gauselmann was single-handedly laying the foundation for a company that would go on to become one of the titans of the European gaming industry. Gauselmann used what he’d learned as a jukebox to create some of the most unique gaming products ever seen.
In 1974 Gauselmann opened his first actual gaming venue in Delmenhorst, Germany. The Casino Merkur-Spielothek subsidiary would go on to become one of the major players in the European gaming industry. The Gauselmann Group continued to be a trendsetter for the land-based casino industry for the next forty years.
The company decided to get in on the online casino boom of the early 2000s and created the brand’s first Internet-only subsidiary: Merkur Interactive. Merkur would go on to port over many of the company’s iconic brick & mortar gaming machines to the online world. These days, the Gauselmann Group operates in hundreds to different countries with thousands of physical gaming machines in casinos around the globe.
Surprisingly the Gauselmann family still plays a huge role in the company with the board of directors comprised primarily of members of the Guaselmann family.
Our Take
If you like vintage slots, there’s a good chance you’ll love Merkur Gaming! Over the years, Merkur Gaming has produced some of Europe’s most beloved slot machine and gambling games. For the time being, Merkur seems content with transforming their land-based slots into online games while creating a new game every now and then.
There’s a certain feeling of nostalgia when you play Merkur slots, especially if your first experiences in a casino was in Europe. Currently, it’s unclear if Merkur will ever create some truly revolutionary online games but for the time being, the company is flourishing with its old-school ports.