Merkur Casino
Past , Present and future
Merkur Geschichte
Merkur is a name that every casino player in Germany knows - and if some of our readers have never heard of it, they probably know the Gauselmann Group, to which Merkur belongs. The company is not only very well known in Germany, but all over the world, which is due to its great games - especially the casino slot machine games. But Merkur not only has a big name online, even before online casinos existed, Merkur was able to establish itself in the casinos of the real world and build a reputation through quality and innovation. Today Merkur is one of the top developers in the casino world.
The future
Unfortunately there has been a lot of negative attention recently about Merkur, as the developer was hit just as hard by regulations as Novoline . In Germany, it is now very difficult for players to find Merkur games in their home casinos. There are currently licensing problems when we want to play Merkur in online casinos in Germany. We have put together an alternative that presents casino players with developers who are definitely a successful option should Merkur continue to conflict with the regulations in Germany. The following developers are recommended:
Online casinos in Germany
Alternatives to Merkur Casino
The Closure
The disappearance of Novoline from German screens
Our readers are sure to wonder why Merkur slot machines have disappeared from online casinos from one minute to the next and the sobering answer is : Nobody really knows. German legislators, to be more specific, the German Federal Constitutional Court announced in October 2017 that Merkur slot machine games may no longer be available online - casinos that continue to offer Merkur games risk a penalty with their offer. Many believe this decision had something to do with the so-called "Panama Papers" which were in the media at the time and exposed money laundering on a large scale. Merkur and the Gauselmann Group immediately denied any connection with money laundering, which is why the ban on slot machine games ultimately remains a little nebulous.
Incidentally, Merkur was not the only big player who was banned from online casinos, either Novoline caught it in the same breath. In doing so, the legislators have sidelined two of the largest providers in Germany - perhaps there would have been more if the Federal Constitutional Court had also had international influence. Some suspect that everything will be a reform of casino gaming in Germany, but there are also vague assumptions about this.
Our recommendation for Merkur players and fans is currently (unfortunately): Other developers have to fill the gap that Mercury is currently leaving behind. Because while Merkur and Novoline have said goodbye for the time being, there are dozens of developers out there who have just been waiting for new fans - German online casinos in particular are of course desperately looking for a replacement for the removed Merkur games. Online casinos offering Merkur have not ceased operations and continue to offer games. Likewise, winnings and account balances remain unaffected by the ban on Merkur and Novoline, so that casino players can continue to use their winnings and deposits - but now with the games of other developers.
Top Casinos
Die besten Online Casinos für deutsche Spieler
We are a fan of the Merkur games and consider them an important part of German gambling. This is precisely why choosing the best online casino to play at cannot be overestimated.
The current ban on online Novoline slots extends to every online operator out there, so do it no point looking for the one regulated casino that has decided to defy the regulators! Whether you want to play the alternatives mentioned above or are just looking for a new and fresh experience with some of the biggest brands in the business, here we have selected our all-time favorites for you. Each of these providers can likely meet all of your gambling needs, and they stand out for being safe, fair and stocked with some of the best online slots currently available to German players.
Vulkan Vegas
Omni Slots
Omni Slots is a rather unusual online casino, which gives the impression of having been around for a long time, but is actually still rather fresh on the market. When we played there, we had the impression that we were dealing with an experienced casino, ...
Spinia
NYSpins || | 1263
Rizk
VoodooDreams
LeoVegas
As one of the largest and most popular online casinos in the world, LeoVegas belongs to an exclusive group of brands that don't really need an introduction, as everyone knows them anyway. For the few readers among us who have only heard the name LeoVegas so far ...
Mr Play
Casumo | || 1389
Casumo hat sich als einer der führenden Anbieter weltweit etabliert. Die Reputation ist außergewöhnlich, gerade wenn es um Spaß, Qualität, Sicherheit und Fairness geht. Die Spieler schätzen bei Casumo vor allem die Spielauswahl, den hervorragenden Service bei der ...
Wunderino
Wunderino is at the forefront of TV advertising. Probably everyone who doesn't just watch NetFlix or other streaming services has seen one or two TV spots from this online casino. We experienced the first surprise after registration at Wunderino ...
Mr Green
Anyone who has ever played in an online casino should know the name Mr Green. In 2008 this provider came out of nowhere and established itself on the market in record time. In the meantime, Mr Green has become one of the largest and most popular online casinos ...
Lapalingo
Lapalingo is one of the new names on the market that only appeared on the radar of us gamers in 2015. This year was really one of the best for online casino fans, as a number of excellent new providers emerged, which are now among the ...
888 Casino
At the forefront of the casino industry there are providers with a wide variety of features and content. But no one comes close to 888 Casino when it is just about the experience. 888 Casino has been around as long as online casino gaming itself. Since 1997 ...
CasinoClub
CasinoClub is one of the older casinos on the market that we rate here on our website. CasinoClub has been online since 2001 and was able to secure its domain before the internet was flooded by casinos. Today typical names for ...
Casino.com
Casimba
Slotanza
MagicRed || | 1627
CasinoEuro
CasinoEuro is another casino with a typical casino name. The provider has been with us since 2002 and is one of the oldest and most established casinos at all. CasinoEuro is the absolute flagship within its own casino group. The ...
PlayClub
Top games
The best slot machines in Germany
Merkur, like Novoline, is responsible for offering a great mix of online slot machine games - few other developers can claim to deliver a similarly good mix. Whether players are into fruit machines or the latest video slot games, there is something for everyone to discover. Many players have started to play Merkur in the offline casino, and most of the Merkur games are still legally available in these offline casinos. So it's not that all of these games disappeared from the casinos and pubs overnight. However, the online games are currently unavailable. However, there is currently a great selection of alternatives in German online casinos.
Games like Alles Spitze, Triple Chance and Magic Mirror stand out here and offer pure excitement - that's why they are also the most popular games from Mercury. A small consolation is that the Merkur games are no longer available as real money games, but can still be found online as a free version without real money. These games are not subject to the same licensing as real money games and can therefore continue to be offered legally, also in online casinos.
Integer posuere erat a ante venenatis dapibus posuere velit aliquet. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
See MoreMerkur slot machine games alternatives
Games from Merkur are so good that many other developers consider these games as Have used inspiration for their own games. This is good news for Merkur fans, as they can experience the originals at least a little through the alternative games. Every special feature that one of the Merkur games offered can now be found in an alternative game. Whether it's the theme, the graphics or just the gameplay of the Merkur games, all of this can also be experienced somewhere in an alternative game. Granted, Allesspitze and many other Merkur slot machine games are unique. It is therefore difficult to find an exact copy of these games. But for the typical Merkur games, such as Magic Mirror and Triple Chance, we find quite good alternatives that have been implemented appropriately.
For German players it is also an advantage that Merkur has licensed some of its games through Australia's Reel Time Gaming. Previously, slot machine games such as Eye of Horus, Fishing Frenzy, El Torero and Wishing Well were offered in German casinos under the Merkur brand. In the course of the new restrictions, it became necessary to slightly modify the games. So the same games can be offered again in an online casino, such as Lapalingo, and the only real difference is the Reel Time Gaming loading screen, which is different from Merkur's.
Payment methods
Casino payment options for German players
One of the most important questions at an online casino is about account management and how we deposit our money and ourselves cash out again - is a casino not doing its job properly here, i The entire gaming experience is gone. However, all of the casinos presented so far have made sure to do their homework with account management.
Account management varies from country to country, but most casinos offer several options for account management, under which are certainly good options for each specific national market. We personally are always happy at an online casino when we can find Sofortüberweisung, Giropay, Paysafecard or PayPal in addition to the usual credit cards. However, each player should have their own preferences when it comes to account management. In the table below, our readers will find a detailed list of which account management options a specific online casino offers:
Casino software
Casino license
Casino licensing in Germany
With the sheer number of online casinos on the market, it doesn't seem like it is these days more so hard to get a casino license. However, we still think that the licensing is one of the most important features of an online casino and is a direct indicator of the quality of the casino - the license tells us how safe our money is at the casino and whether it makes sense to play here at all. With the licenses themselves, however, there are differences depending on which authority or institution they were issued by.
Certainly there are a lot of good licensing offices, but in general it can be said for the German market that licenses the Malta Gaming Authority (MAG) and Schleswig-Holstein have a very good reputation. Malta Gaming Authority is currently the most serious institution when it comes to licenses for online casinos - more about this can also be found on the MGA website. Anyone who has a license from the MGA has a good reputation in the industry.
As far as the license from Schleswig-Holstein is concerned, it is the one with the highest reputation on the German market. Incidentally, the license itself is awarded by the federal state of SH, which creates additional trust for one or the other. Only a small number of licenses were issued from Schleswig-Holstein, and only for a limited time. The licenses that have already been issued are valid in any case, even if new online casinos can no longer obtain them at the moment.
In addition to these two licensing offices, we often come across the name Curacao in the online casino industry. Even if a license from Curacao certainly can't do any harm, the sole licensing by this registry is not necessarily meaningful. Anyone who comes across an online casino that only has a license from Curacao should definitely also take a closer look at the general reputation of the online casino in the community. A license from Curacao is not worthless, however, it is much easier to obtain than that of the MGA or from Schleswig-Holstein.
Should one of our readers come across an online casino that doesn't have any Has to offer a license or has been licensed by a provider that we have not listed here, then we advise extreme caution. Without a license, an online casino does not have to be accountable to any institute, which can be a problem for us players in the event of a dispute. Without a license, we only trust the word of the online casino, which unfortunately is very often not very valuable - and since there are numerous alternatives with licensing from trustworthy agencies, the question arises anyway why we should play in such a casino at all.
The future of gambling in Germany
The situation around Merkur
As the current situation looks, we can no longer find Merkur slot machines on the Internet. We are big fans of Merkur's games ourselves and would love to see them in online casinos again. At the moment, however, it is difficult to assess when and whether these games will be available again in online casinos - should something change in the currently unclear situation, we will inform our readers here immediately.
That the slot machine games from Merkur disappeared from online casinos in Germany was certainly not good news, but as we have already shown here, there are numerous good alternatives. So for players who have only gotten to know the Merkur games so far, there are definitely good online casinos out there. If in doubt, we can always test the demo version of alternative games, for example right here on our site, before deciding on a casino.
As far as Novoline is concerned, Merkur was a bit ahead of the developer, anyway it also hurts that the Novoline games are also no longer available. Merkur games are partly offered under a license from Reel Time Gaming, with only the loading screen and the gaming tables differing a little from the original. Merkur has always benefited from being part of the Gauselmann Group, which in turn has a close connection to Blueprint Gaming. Blueprint Gaming, for its part, still has a good selection of slot machine games that are very similar to Merkur’s slot machine games. The good news is: Blueprint Gaming games are still available in Germany. So we definitely have alternatives available that can at least provide some consolation for the fact that Merkur slot machine games have disappeared from online casinos in Germany.
If we look at the industry in Germany, then it may be that the regulations, rules and laws will look completely different in the future. Germany is not yet as advanced as other European countries when it comes to regulating the online casino industry. France, for example, is very restrictive in the industry, so that many international providers do not dare to enter the market. When it comes to regulations, the Italian government keeps an eye on the various providers and only issues approvals at its own discretion. And then there is the United Kingdom, there were also local regulations here, but these are a little more relaxed and allow approval if online casinos meet the standards.
We could choose, would we want a British model for Germany - one that offers fairness and security, but at the same time does not implement regulations that are so strict that the good providers are excluded. The overall situation in Germany is currently just as unclear as the future of the Merkur Games. Should anything change in this overall situation or in the situation around Mercury, our readers will surely find out here first.