RTL-Test: What can one do with 300 Euro when playing games of chance?

An RTL reporter took the test and over a period of two weeks tried out all forms of gambling which are available. She bought lottery scratch tickets, took part in a lottery draw, visited a gambling hall, and of course gambled in an online casino. How did the test go and how much money did she have left from the initial budget of 300 Euro?

The public acceptance of gambling changed somewhat with the introduction of the New State Gambling Act (GlüStV) in July 2021. Now online casinos holding the licence of the GGL, (Gemeinsamen Glücksspielbehörde der Länder) which is the gambling authority responsible for all reasons in Germany can offer legal virtual slot games on the internet. In an RTL feature which was streamed in mid-February, a reporter took the test and tried out different types of gambling herself. 

RTL-Test: it started off with lotto and lottery scratch tickets

The journalist Anke Reichardt took part in different forms of gambling for two weeks for the purpose of the test, and she set herself a loss limit of 300 Euro. She staked the first Euros in the lotto. Just during the past year there were 187 new lotto millionaires in Germany. According to the information she gave, the RTL reporter had purchased a lottery ticket from the kiosk round the corner for the first time. The tester reported that whilst choosing the lotto numbers she was not influenced “neither by the favourite numbers nor by the birthdays”. Reichardt also bought some lottery scratch tickets.

Second stop: the Berlin casino

After her first stake in the lotto, she made her way to the Spielbank Berlin. In March 2021 we had reported that a new casino had opened at the Berlin Kurfürstendamm. The TV-Team was even allowed to film the casino premises. However, on one condition: the anonymity of the other players must be upheld all the time.

In the casino Reichardt first took a seat at the blackjack table. A short while later she had the first success: a blackjack. However very soon she suffered her first losses. Then the RTL journalist tried her luck on Roulette. She describes her experiences here with the words “the addiction to win can already be felt”. After Blackjack and Roulette, she tried out the classic slot machines.

RTL-Reporter was also in the online casino

After visiting the lotto booth and the Berlin casino she then tried her luck in the online casino. Reichardt was happy to receive a bonus here. According to the described “newcomers’ offer” a bonus of 40 Euro will be received when depositing 20 Euro. Thus the tester could play on the virtual slot machines with the total amount of 60 Euro.

In the online casino which was not named things went on quite well for the test player. She won some money in the free game rounds; however she made the typical beginner’s mistake and cancelled an active bonus. We described further mistakes of the gambling newbie in an article published on GambleJoe.

The RTL reporter described her experiences in the online casino as follows:

“Actually, I do not agree with these types of games. I would like to log out and say that this whole nonsense id not worth it. And suddenly a game started to give me free games constantly. I then kept on receiving more money and things looked even better. Suddenly I had 100 Euro and I thought this is cool. And as I gave up the bonus to see how much real money I actually have, it was suddenly not there anymore.”

Online gambling provider makes phone contact with RTL tester

Shortly before the test ended the reporter received a phone call from the employee of an online gambling provider. He offered her an attractive casino bonus amounting to 150 % of the amount deposited plus further free games. The RTL reporter thanked him but refused the offer.

Former gambling addicted reports about her experiences

The RTL-Test features the former gambling addict “Julia”. She describes her personal experiences and criticises the dangers of games of chance. In several articles we had published in the past we had talked in detail about the dangers of gambling. For example in an article we had published in October 2022 we had asked, whether the current recordbreaking inflation can increase the danger of addiction.

Conclusion

At the end of the test, it was time for the balance sheet. The reporter of Punkt 12 had lost 244 Euro and over a period of two weeks she won just 32 Euro. At the end she had the feeling that she could have better invested the money in other things. 

Image source: https://pixabay.com/de/illustrations/tafel-schule-uni-lernen-arbeit-361516/