Exploiting Amateur Soccer – DW – 07/24/2025
However, hundreds of matches from the German topand regional leagues are offered on international betting portals: It's a billion-dollar business.
The betting industry is cashing in on amateur soccer - even though sports betting on these games is banned in Germany. Clubs and players are often unaware of this and are left empty-handed in this global business. And that's not all: amateur soccer is susceptible to match fixing - the integrity of Germans' favorite sport is at stake!
Many players and clubs have no idea what's going on. For example, Kirchheimer SC, a club that played in the Bayernliga in the 23/24 season. They only found out from journalists that bookmakers were making money from their games - and were outraged. The players are amateurs and not in it for the money: "It's the passion that should count, the fight on the pitch and simply the fun of the sport. I think action should be taken against this," says a young amateur player.
But it's not that simple. Where's the loophole in the system? How does information about free kicks, yellow cards and goals in real time in the fifth division get onto bookmakers' websites? The suspicion: there must be someone on the ground collecting and forwarding the data, a person known as a data scout.
The risk of addiction is particularly high with this kind of betting, as is the temptation to rig the results. In the film, an Austrian amateur gambler who was jailed for match fixing explains how it works. It's not just minor providers including amateur games in their betting portfolio. This is a problem that reaches into the upper echelons of the industry, sponsors of the 2024 European Championship, Bundesliga clubs and even sponsors of the DFB. How can that be?
A team of investigative journalists and data experts uncovers the truth.
DW English
TUE 12.08.2025 – 01:15 UTC
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