Merkur Group has agreed to acquire White Hat Studios, one of the largest online slot suppliers in the US market, in a move to expand its American igaming business. The deal was announced on 15 July and is subject to regulatory approval.
The transaction does not cover the White Hat Gaming platform or its white label businesses, which stay under their current ownership. Merkur and White Hat did not disclose the financial terms.
What Merkur is buying
White Hat Studios was created in 2021, when it bought a remote game server, brand and games catalogue from Blueprint Gaming. It went on to become one of the more visible slot suppliers in US online casino, and was the first provider to offer online slots across all seven of the country’s regulated online casino markets.
Its catalogue includes the House of Brands slot collection, the 7s Fire Blitz series and the Jackpot Royale progressive jackpot network. White Hat Studios distributes content from studios including Blueprint, Reel Time, Merkur and Lucksome to US operators, placing it among the B2B suppliers competing for share in the country’s growing regulated igaming market.
The division had been the subject of sale reports since early 2025, when its parent was said to be weighing options for the business.
A second US deal for Merkur
The purchase follows Merkur’s acquisition of Gaming Arts, the Nevada-licensed game and machine supplier, which completed in September 2025 after the Nevada Gaming Commission signed off in May. That deal gave the German group a US manufacturing and distribution licence and access to Gaming Arts’ licences across the US, Canada and Latin America.
Merkur Group, formerly the Gauselmann Group, first moved into online gaming in Europe through its 2012 acquisition of Blueprint Gaming. Buying White Hat Studios gives it a US-facing online slot studio to sit alongside Gaming Arts’ land-based operations, covering both online and retail channels. The move adds to a run of consolidation among suppliers and operators chasing scale in North America, from the operators ranked by market cap to recent takeovers such as Bally’s Intralot’s move for Evoke.
What the companies said
Andy Whitworth, president of White Hat Studios, framed the sale as a route to further growth.
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.
Lars Felderhoff, chairman of the Merkur Management Board, said the group wanted to build on White Hat’s US position.
White Hat Studios has delivered impressive growth since its launch. We look forward to working with the team to continue the US success story and, in turn, Merkur’s expansion in regulated igaming.
Michael Gauselmann, chairman of the Merkur Supervisory Board, tied the deal to the company’s earlier online move.
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.
Advisers and next steps
White Hat Studios was advised by Oakvale Capital. CMS acted as legal adviser to White Hat Studios, and Wiggin advised Merkur.
The acquisition still needs regulatory clearance before it can close, and the parties have not set out a timeline. Approval would give Merkur a larger online presence in the US at a point when the number of states running regulated online casino remains small, leaving suppliers to compete hard for position in the markets that are open.
Source: Merkur Group
