Groundbreaking MERKUR CASINO and Casino Technology project in view of the EU enlargement 2007

New partnership in Bulgaria

SOFIA/ESPELKAMP. MERKUR CASINO, Europe-wide active subsidiary of the family-run Gauselmann Group signed an operational agreement on 8 September 2006 with one of the biggest electronic casino operators in Bulgaria with the active cooperation of Casino Technology. As a leading Bulgarian manufacturer of casino and gaming equipment Casino Technology will supply the slot equipment for this project. The company has been chosen by the operators for the great performance and popularity of their products: slot machines, games and jackpot systems.

The first two electronic casinos under the PALMS MERKUR CASINO label are under construction. Their inauguration is planned before the end of the year.

“With this project,“ says Rolf Klug, Member of the Board of Merkur and Spielothek International of Gauselmann AG, “we have laid an additional cornerstone for sound growth under the MERKUR CASINO SUN in one of the most recent EU accession candidate countries! We are very proud to team up with Casino Technology as an absolutely professional and internationally experienced partner, for whom high quality and competences standards are as self-evident as for us.“

The company Casino Technology was founded by Milo Borrissov in 1999 and very fast turned into the leading international equipment, accessories, and support provider for Casino and arcade operations based in Sofia/Bulgaria. They are the preferred choice for all the casino and arcade operators in Bulgaria. The “CT“ products and services are available in more than 50 countries around the globe.

MERKUR CASINO, the international subsidiary counterpart of the German subsidiary MERKUR-SPIELOTHEK that has been very successfully for more than 30 years, currently operates more than 50 casino-halls throughout Europe (excl. Germany).

“Bulgaria will presumably become a member of the EU on January 1, 2007. Especially against this background does the groundbreaking nature of the cooperation become evident,” explains Rolf Falke, managing director of MERKUR CASINO. “Last but not least the valuable experience we had in Romania, that like Bulgaria is also a candidate for accession to the EU in 2007, was very useful in our quest for a competent in Bulgaria.“

In 2005 the aggregate business volume of the Gauselmann Group companies totaled EUR 1.004b, with fully consolidated revenues of EUR 688.2m. At the end of the fiscal year 2005 the headcount of the company was 5,638 worldwide and ever since its inception it has sold more than 2 million gaming products around the globe. Almost 500 game developers worldwide work on gaming designs, mathematics, graphics, and quality management and thus underline the innovative capabilities and the competence of the Gauselmann Group.

Please visit the following websites for further information about the Gauselmann group or Casino Technology: www.gauselmann.de, www.merkur-casino.de as well as www.casino-technology.com