My name is Thomas and I am 20 years old. I am a trainee insurance salesman and come from near Cologne. I have been trying my luck regularly with sports betting for a little over a year now. Most of the time I play with the provider Tipico, because I got used to them and I never had any problems with the deposit or payout. I am also satisfied with the odds there and the company is very large and well known, so I am not afraid not to receive my money there. I make deposits mainly via online banking and Paysafecards. Especially the latter method is very handy if you want to deposit anonymously. But you have to verify your account anyway when you pay out, so I have no problem with online banking and the money is on my betting account within a few seconds with both methods.

My first bets

It all started on a Bundesliga weekend. I watched football with a buddy and he made some bets on the matches before the matches. Since I have always been very interested in sports and know a lot about the games, he also asked for my tips. The basics like odds were already clear to me and he offered me to make a bet for a small amount. I gave him 10 Euro and made my first bet for real money. Unfortunately, I don’t know which teams that was for anymore. I can only remember the feeling of excitement and tension that kept coming up when the commentator at the conference yelled “Toooooooor in xy” and we hoped that our team scored. After the game, I drove home and opened my own account at Tipico. After about 10 minutes, I entered all my details and confirmed my email. I paid 20 Euro and got 20 Euro from Tipico as a new customer. So I could place bets for a total of 40 Euro.

First strategies for the NHL

I am a very big hockey fan and follow the NHL intensively. And by intense I mean that I also know the players who are not yet in the NHL games and who are talented in the farm teams. I decided to divide my budget from 40 Euros into quarters and place bets for 10 Euros each. I bet mixed on the number of goals and winning bets. Ice hockey is a back and forth game and scoring only a few goals is extremely exciting and almost exhausting to watch. So I decided that I wanted to have fun in a NHL game. And I actually have fun with goals. So I was betting on games where I expected a lot of goals. In the win bets I analyzed the games of the day without knowing the odds. If a team was the underdog of the bookmakers and the favourite of me, then I bet on that team. With this simple strategy I could play my way up to 200 Euro after 2 weeks. I had bet the bonus amount often enough and could convert it into real money. So I had about 200 Euro real money on my betting account. It was now time for my first payout.

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First payout and dry spell

When I wanted to apply for my first payout, I was told that I had to go through the identification check. I sent a picture of my identity card to Tipico. After a few hours it was checked and my account was verified. In my opinion, it is quite questionable that customers are only asked for their ID when they pay out. When I made my deposit, nobody was interested in whether I really entered correct data. But the payout itself was on my account after only one working day. I hadn’t really counted on the money that fast and was very positively surprised by this service. For a company like Tipico, 150 Euros are of course also peanuts. But also with higher amounts I assume that these can be paid out without problems and similarly fast. With the remaining 50 Euro on my account I made further bets. However, the lucky fairy had chosen a new protégé, because I lost my bets and ended up with 0 Euro on my betting account. For the first time I learned what a streak of bad luck feels like. Wins that I thought were certain were lost and favourites suddenly stumbled when I bet on them.

Live bets with the Smartphone

I took a break for a few days and got the appetite for a few bets just in time for the weekend. Bundesliga without bets was somehow too boring for me and I wanted to bring some excitement to the conference with a few bets. I deposited 50 Euro at Tipico and bet on a few games. In the middle of the first half I was suddenly sure that Bayern would score another goal before the break. My buddy told me that I should bet on it if I am so sure. I grabbed my smartphone and logged in for the first time via the mobile side of Tipico. The big offer of live betting literally killed me. When does the next goal fall? How many more goals will fall? Who will score the next goal? There were endless possibilities to make a bet live. I bet 10 Euro on Bayern meets before the break and after a short delay my bet was accepted. I put my mobile phone away again and waited anxiously whether the Bavarians would meet. “Toooooooor in Munich” the commentator suddenly shouts in between. My pulse was very high and I hoped that the Bavarians had scored a goal. When I saw the cheering Arjen Robben, the case was clear. I won my first live bet and sold my soul to the Bavarians. As a Dortmund fan it was no easy thing. But fun aside, live betting became an integral part of my betting strategy from that point on and I hardly watch a conference without making live bets with my smartphone.

Fazit and a small warning

In summary, I would like to say that sports betting is an exciting hobby that can even be used to earn some money. However, you should never lose sight of the fact that sports betting can be addictive and that you can lose a lot of money. I can control myself so far that I only play with money that I am willing to lose. You should never expect to win and play with money you need for vital things. With sports betting, it’s very easy to get into a frenzy and want to bet more and more. If I had the feeling that I could no longer live without sports betting, I would have my Tipico account blocked immediately. But I can only recommend sports betting as a thrill for the conference and with moderate stakes.

 
Experience report written by Thomas, 20 years old, near Cologne