Whether Double Triple Chance or Jolly’s Cap, whether Eye of Horus or El Torero. The Merkur slot machines known from the gaming library are among the most popular casino games in Germany. Everyone gets along with the classic design immediately. The usually very high variance of the games ensures high individual winnings. No wonder, then, that online casinos are discover more and more real money games for themselves. With the exception in Schleswig-Holstein, however, the vending machine manufacturer Gauselmann itself has so far held back and only licensed its slot machines to foreign online casinos. With Merkur24, the German gambling pioneer now offers its games nationwide. The Social Casino, which has been available in Germany since autumn 2017, officially uses the name Merkur and the Spielotheken-Sonne. The offer: Play slot machines for free. We have tested Merkur24 and answer the most important questions in this article.
What is Merkur24?
Merkur24 is a so-called social casino. This means that, unlike a real money casino, it is not about winning money. Rather, the focus is on fun. Playing together and measuring with friends. Who makes the biggest profit? Who has tried the most games? Who reaches the highest level? You can also win non-cash prizes, for example tickets for the German Soccer League, a BMW convertible or a trip to Las Vegas. At the machines and casino tables, however, only play money is used. Otherwise the games themselves are absolutely identical to the real money slot machines you can find in online casinos like Sunmaker or LeoVegas.
Who is behind Merkur24?
The sun in the logo and the official brand name already indicate it: Behind the portal is actually the Gauselmann Group. With Whow Games GmbH, Merkur has brought on board a partner specialized in social casinos who also functions as the operator of the site in the imprint. However, the domain is registered with Merkur Interactive Services GmbH, which belongs to the Gauselmann Group. So you can be sure: Here everything is 100% original.
Update: The online ban of Gauselmann
In mid-November, a message shook up the online casino scene: The Gauselmann Group is demanding that all online casinos remove Mercury games from their offerings if they do not have a German license. Since no nationwide license has been issued to date and the Federal Administrative Court recently confirmed the general ban on online casinos, this should mean that almost all casinos will no longer be allowed to offer Merkur slot games.
To our knowledge, the Social Casino Merkur24 is not affected by this ban, as no real money games are offered here. In addition, as mentioned above, the Gauselmann Group itself and Merkur Interactive are behind the offer.
Is the whole thing really free of charge?
Merkur24 is a classic free to play offer. This means that you don’t have to spend a cent and can play completely free of charge. But if you want to make fast progress or replenish your used chips immediately, you can buy premium packages and bonus chips for real money. New players, for example, can buy 18 million chips and a level bonus for 3.99 Euros. Of course, the business model is anything but new. Also Candy Crush, Clash of Clans or Zynga Poker work exactly according to this principle and are economically successful. For most players, however, the free variant should be fully sufficient. It takes a little longer to unlock the individual games (see next chapter) – but isn’t that exactly the attraction?
Which games are offered?
The selection of games is quite convincing shortly after launch – which is not really surprising with an official Merkur product. More than 60 free slot machines were available during our test. You’ll find classics like Extra 10 Liner or Gold of Persia, Gamomat games like Land of Heroes, Roman Legion or Ramses Book. There are also video slots from Betsoft, for example Mr. Vegas, Gladiator or Greedy Goblins. The lesser known software producers Oryx, Spinomental and the operator Whow also contribute some slots and table games.
Speaking of table games: There is not only Roulette, Blackjack, Video Poker and Casino Hold’em, but also a live Casino. Here via videostream real casino tables with real dealers and croupiers are transmitted to your home. In many real money casinos the live casino is not available with play money.
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