My name is Timo, I am 24 years old and come from Delmenhorst. Herewith I would like to report about my positive and negative experiences with sports betting.

Already at the age of 15 I was very interested in sports betting, especially since the big hype about single bookmakers in Germany began at this time and the tickle of the forbidden was relatively big at this age. However, due to the age restriction I could not open an account with a provider yet. At the age of 16, however, I was able to convince my father to open a betting account with me, as he is also very interested in sports and trusted me in dealing with money. We opened a joint account at Bwin in his name and paid an amount of 10 Euros, which increased to 20 Euros through a welcome bonus. As an agreement, we had previously agreed that this would be the only deposit we would make, so I would continue to have a healthy relationship with the money and be careful with it. In the almost 1 1/2 years that we kept the account alive, we increasingly bet on games of the 1st and 2nd Bundesliga. And this also only with relatively small kept amounts, so that in the end no large profits were gained.

After my 18th birthday I opened my first betting account and compared different bookmakers before, because I was not quite satisfied with Bwin and his odds. Once compared, I quickly came across bookmakers who had been completely unknown to me until then and whom I could not assess as serious or dubious due to a lack of information. In the end, after a little research, I ended up at Bet365 and opened my first betting account on their website. I paid 25 Euro per Paysafe card, 50 Euro after doubling by the bonus for new customers, and gradually got to know the complete world of bookmakers. In the beginning I was still quite hesitant with my bets, so I was able to keep my account and credit for quite a long time and never really made a big profit.

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My first big bet, where I could win a mid three-digit amount, came at the end of the 19th century, when I had discovered several other betting markets than football and the full variety of betting options. My strategy was quite simple. I had been able to bet a small cushion that I always kept at 100 Euros. I never wanted to go under this mark, which is why I always bet 100 Euro on 2-3 smaller odds in the range of 1.01 – 1.10 and always put the profit from it into other bets with large odds. But this was only possible because at that time no betting tax was due in Germany and there was no need to worry about lowering the odds. Today, this would no longer be possible in this form without taking a greater risk. I had the profit of over 400 euros immediately paid out to my bank account, but in the following weeks I lost a bet I thought was safe and lost my entire betting balance of 100 euros.

Occasionally I have deposited smaller amounts to my already existing account at Bet365 and a new account at Unibet, because both bookmakers also provide an excellent service in terms of live streams and you can easily follow various sporting events live. I have not won larger profits in the three-digit range up to now, my entire balance should also be slightly in the red at today’s level, which is almost unavoidable in the long run. However, my strategy has changed enormously over the years. While at the beginning I was still very reserved with my own credit and was already very happy with weather contracts of 5 or 8 euros, I risk today well and gladly times my entire credit on a betting quota. Not only to earn a little money with it, but to simply get more interest and emotions in the game. Especially games of the Bundesliga, in which my club is not involved, I like to play at the right odds. I don’t have special favourites on or against which I bet, it’s only the odds and the form of the teams that decide.

In the meantime, betting on sports events is simply part of it for me. Although I try to use more betting coupons or free bets, but if these are not available, I like to pay 10 – 15 euros. In the past you had to get a Paysafe card for this, today you can do it quite quickly by Sofortüberweisung or PayPal, which makes things even more attractive and easier. However, the frequency with which bets are placed has drastically decreased. As already mentioned, some Bundesliga matches are played, but also NBA matches (basketball) or international football matches as well as UFC or Bellator (MMA) matches. I don’t follow other betting markets so intensively anymore, because my interest in other sports has also decreased strongly in all the years and it is too time-consuming in the long run to be up to date in all sports at the same time. Another reason why I still occasionally bet is the mobile offer of my favorite bookmakers, which allows me to place and control my bets on the go.