Merkur acquires White Hat’s studio arm

• Merkur Group has agreed to acquire White Hat Studios, a market-leading supplier of online slots in the US market.
• The deal builds on Merkur’s 2025 acquisition of Gaming Arts and remains subject to regulatory approval.
• The White Hat Gaming platform and white label businesses are excluded from the transaction and stay under current ownership.

Merkur Group has agreed to acquire White Hat Studios, deepening the German gaming group’s push into the regulated US iGaming market.

The deal, announced today on July 15, 2026, still needs regulatory sign-off and lands less than a year after Merkur bought Nevada-based supplier Gaming Arts.

Building on Gaming Arts

Merkur closed its purchase of Gaming Arts, a Las Vegas-based maker of slot machines, bingo, and keno products, in September 2025. That deal returned Merkur to the US market after it had previously held a Nevada supplier license, and the White Hat Studios agreement extends that momentum rather than starting a fresh chapter.

Lars Felderhoff, Chairman of the Merkur Management Board, said:

“White Hat Studios has delivered impressive growth since its launch. We look forward to working with the team to continue the U.S. success story and, in turn, Merkur’s expansion in regulated iGaming.”

Michael Gauselmann, Chairman of the Merkur Supervisory Board, added:

“Having made early inroads into the online space in Europe via our Blueprint acquisition in 2012, I am delighted by this latest development and am confident that White Hat Studios will be a great addition to our group.”

Founded in 1957 by Paul Gauselmann and now trading as Merkur.com AG, the family-owned group employs close to 15,000 people worldwide out of its headquarters in Espelkamp, Germany. Its 2025 revenue topped €2 billion.

A fast-growing studio

White Hat Studios entered the market in 2021 and was the first supplier to put online slots live across all seven regulated US iGaming states.

Its catalogue spans the House of Brands collection, the 7s Fire Blitz series, and the Jackpot Royale progressive network, which currently feeds local operator prize pools through more than 40 jackpot games.

More than 150 titles sit in the supplier’s library, many built around licensed names such as The Goonies, Peaky Blinders, Ted, The Flintstones, and Deal or No Deal. New releases arrive at a pace of at least six games monthly, keeping the catalogue in constant motion.

Distribution runs through major US operators including BetMGM, DraftKings, FanDuel, Caesars, and Rush Street Interactive, with strongholds in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Michigan, West Virginia, and Connecticut. Andy Whitworth has led the studio since 2022, arriving after senior stints at Entain, NetEnt, and Light & Wonder.

Growth hasn’t slowed this year. A Michigan launch with Four Winds went live in May, a West Virginia partnership with Delaware North’s Betly landed in December 2025, and a set of soccer-themed titles rolled out in June ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

Independent rankings back up the growth story: Eilers & Krejcik Gaming places White Hat Studios among the top three US slot suppliers by gross gaming revenue. Recognition has followed, with the studio winning Casino Supplier of the Year – North America at the SBC Awards Americas and Slot Supplier – Under 5 Years at the EGR Global B2B Awards, both in 2026.

Andy Whitworth, President of White Hat Studios, said:

“Joining Merkur Group is an exciting moment for everyone associated with White Hat Studios and, fundamentally, it is the best possible move to realise our ambitions for future growth and product innovation. Working alongside the hugely experienced Merkur team will open new possibilities for us across iGaming and enhance our ability to develop a world-class omni-channel proposition that will benefit both operators and players.”

What’s changing hands

The transaction carves out the White Hat Gaming platform and its white label operations entirely. Both stay with their current owners; only the White Hat Studios slots and content business moves to Merkur.

Oakvale Capital advised White Hat Studios on the sale. CMS handled legal work for White Hat Studios, and Wiggin advised Merkur.

Regulatory clearance remains the last hurdle. A completed deal would hand Merkur a combined online and land-based US operation covering slots content, jackpot systems, and gaming machines, layering on top of what it built through Gaming Arts less than a year prior.

Supplier consolidation of this kind is becoming a defining feature of the US market, where distribution reach and content depth increasingly decide who gets shelf space with the biggest operators.