The Slot Machine Empire – North Rhine-Westphalia and Gambling
WDR Heimatflimmern Documentary
First aired on: 06/03/2026 at 8:15 p.m. and in the WDR Media Library, 45 min
They clatter, they flash, and they promise quick wins: slot machines. No other form of gambling has been so firmly embedded in everyday life in North Rhine-Westphalia for decades. Nearly 40,000 machines stand or hang in the state’s arcades and restaurants. A temptation with the risk of addiction in bars, arcades, and snack bars.
North Rhine-Westphalia is a stronghold of the slot machine industry with a long history of success. Paul Gauselmann, born in Steinfurt in 1934, worked as a service technician for jukeboxes in his youth, achieved success by improving and refining the machines, and eventually landed a job at a manufacturer in Espelkamp. He then went into business for himself. The slot machines he developed himself became a huge success throughout Germany in the 1970s. Gauselmann turned his one-man operation in East Westphalia into a multi-billion-dollar gaming conglomerate, the Merkur Group.
For Gerda Kolster, a retiree from Dortmund, a visit to the arcade is a daily ritual. Sven Heuvers from Rheine especially loves the old machines. He’s been fascinated by the flashing machines since he was a child. Today, he collects them and plays in his small private arcade. And at Frauke Krater’s Cologne pub, “Zum kleinen Geißbock,” the machines remain an indispensable part of the experience to this day.
The documentary takes viewers on a journey through the world of slot machines in North Rhine-Westphalia. Paul Gauselmann recounts his early days as a machine installer and later as a developer. In the production halls of East Westphalia, state-of-the-art machines featuring the latest games for the global market are being built. But gambling is not without controversy: Professor Gerhard Meyer was one of the first to research its dangers. To this day, the psychologist remains Gauselmann’s biggest critic.
Set against the backdrop of bar counters and factory floors, moments of joy and a grungy image, the film tells the story of a unique North Rhine-Westphalian culture that everyone knows but has never seen quite like this before.
Click here for the program in the WDR MEDIA LIBRARY.
