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Sports betting in general: Investigation proceedings according to §285

Topic created on 19th Sep. 2024 | Page: 1 of 1 | Answers: 0 | Views: 77
bookieschreck

Investigation proceedings according to §285

19th Sep. 2024, at 08:52 pm CEST#1
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Hello everyone,

a few weeks ago I received mail (normal mail, not registered mail) from the police/public prosecutor for involvement in illegal online betting under §285 StGB. I passed this on to my lawyer and the proceedings have now been discontinued as there were no previous convictions.

The facts of the case: I had played with a Provider with a license from Curacao and also won (low five-figure amount). The authorities probably found out about my betting activity via this win from summer 2023 and the corresponding bank transfer plus the data from my internet provider, but the police sent me a letter almost a whole year later.

As I like to bet on lower leagues, the betting providers licensed in Germany are out of the question for me, as these leagues are no longer allowed to be offered due to regulation. Therefore, I would still be reluctant to do without the betting offer from providers with a license from Curacao, if there are still legal options here. The websites of some of these providers can still be accessed from Germany and some providers even encourage customers from Germany to use a VPN in order to be able to play.

To clarify the question of what is legal under German law and what is not, I have outlined two scenarios. There are 2 "problems": Firstly, the betting itself, and secondly, the transfer of the win.

1. Scenario: Sports betting in Austria is legal, regardless of the provider's license. So if I am in Austria and bet, I cannot commit a criminal offense under German law, i.e. you could simply bet from Austria. Ok, you have to get there first, of course. The betting itself is not punishable (under German law), the transfer of the win would be noticed, but a criminal offense does not exist or cannot be proven. The question would still be whether a bank account in Austria would have any additional value in this case.

2. Scenario: I am typing from Germany, but via a VPN client. In this case, I would have committed an offense under §285, but can the offense be proven? And if so, where is the starting point from a technical point of view? The log-in with the betting provider? In terms of criminal law, it can't actually be the log-in, as it has to be proven that I also PLAYED. Logging in (and e.g. requesting the remaining balance) to an account that has existed for a long time is not actually sufficient for a criminal offense. Or does logging in already constitute intent to gamble? And in my case, as I am already on some kind of list of the authorities with an investigation, does my renewed log-in to my "illegal" bookie stand out directly to the authorities from a technical point of view, in contrast to a player unknown to the authorities? In any case, it is not entirely clear to me where the technical point of contact is for the authorities to prove that I actually played at an "illegal" bookie.

Another option for betting is to use an intermediary. Unfortunately, BetInAsia, a well-known intermediary, no longer offers its services in Germany. But does betting via an intermediary actually also fall under §285?

I'm sure my lawyer can answer some of these questions for me. Nevertheless, I would like to hear your opinion on this and your experience with the issues raised. Thank you very much.


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