Star Joker

About Star Joker

According to the German Press Agency, the Frankfurt public prosecutor’s office, together with the Frankfurt tax investigation unit, the State Office for the Combat of Financial Crime in North Rhine-Westphalia and Frankfurt police, executed coordinated searches across 11 premises on Tuesday.

Over 100 officers participated in the operation. Authorities seized several high-value vehicles, froze numerous bank accounts and imposed an asset restraint order valued at around €82 million. An arrest warrant was also executed.

Prosecutors allege that five suspects had operated internet-based gambling services without the required German licences from at least July 2021. The volume of bets placed on these platforms reportedly exceeded €5.8 billion between mid-2021 and the end of 2023. 

How to play Star Joker

iGaming was not the industry I set out to work in. Before 2021, I worked in finance and business – agro companies, management consultancy and investment funds, none of which were remotely linked to the industry.

In 2021, I joined an investment fund focused on startups harnessing AI and machine learning. In the process, I had a chance encounter with an iGaming investor. This sparked a conversation that would change the course of my career. He pointed out that iGaming was dramatically underutilising its data potential. There was an opportunity here, and once we began exploring it, the thread just kept unravelling.

I started out as an adviser with the Playa, but was appointed the company’s CEO in 2024, a position I did not expect to find myself in, but an opportunity I have embraced with open arms. As a company, we provide AI personalisation solutions to businesses, something that was totally new to the market.

What is Star Joker?

Merkur represents the gaming and leisure division of the Gauselmann Group, a historic German family-owned enterprise specialising in gaming machines, software and casino operations across Europe. 

Earlier this year Merkur Group agreed to acquire the slots provider White Hat Studios. Merkur said the acquisition, which is subject to regulatory approvals, would “further accelerate” its US expansion, complementing its 2025 purchase of the Nevada-licensed supplier Gaming Arts.  

Framing the acquisition as the latest step in the company’s online expansion, Merkur supervisory board Chairman Michael Gauselmann stated: “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.”