Austrian gaming giant Novomatic has further strengthened its position in the German market with the acquisition of gaming hall operator Casino Royal Group.

Novomatic

Casino Royal operates around 3,500 gaming machines at 130 locations in Germany, generating 2016 sales of €102m. Novomatic already controls the Admiral Play Halls business in Germany and the addition of Casino Royal, which employs around 1,000 people, makes Novomatic the country’s leading operator of gambling halls.

Novomatic managing director Martin Restle said the plan was to maintain the Casino Royal brand and to preserve the company’s “competence” by retaining its existing management team of Rolf Falke and Dirk Schilling. Restle also said Novomatic expected to start realising synergy effects from the deal in the coming months.

Novomatic CEO Harald Neumann recently predicted that the German market would be “characterised by strong changes” in the next few years, which was why the company had embarked on a strategy to build on its already strong position in the market via strategic acquisitions.