Novomatic is an international gambling company, founded by the Austrian billionaire Johann Graf in 1980. It operates in over 80 countries, has more than 30,000 employees and owns casinos in locations such as Berlin and Santiago, Chile. The Novomatic Group consists of three holding companies.
Johann Graf partnered with Gerhard Brodnik in the 1970s to start Brodnik & Graf, a company that imported pinball machines from Belgium. In 1980, Brodnik decided to quit, and Graf oriented towards producing gambling machines under the Admiral brand. He opened a number of Admiral branded casinos.
Novomatic expanded globally during the 80s and vastly improved gambling technology, pioneering new features such as touch-screen technology.
In 2010, Novomatic expanded into online gambling business by acquiring a controlling stake in the London-based Greentube studio. Greentube is now the main online publisher of Novomatic slot games, which were added to its own existing portfolio.
Greentube purchased Canadian-based Bluebat Games studio in 2015 to further bolster its online presence. The company also cemented its position in Europe in 2018 when it bought out Italy’s Admiral Sport.
Novomatic pivoted back to a focus on retail casinos when it bought out Ainsworth Game Technology, an Australian gambling equipment maker for $300m in 2018.
Key personnel:
Executive Board Member: Johannes Gratzl
Chairman of the Supervisory Board: Dr. Bernd Oswald
Deputy Chairwoman of the Supervisory Board: Martina Flitsch
Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board: Dr. Haig Asenbauer
Member of the Supervisory Board: Dr. Robert Hofians
Company size: 21, 200
