“ZDF Magazin Royale” takes a swipe at sports betting

The latest episode of the late-night show “ZDF Magazin Royale”, hosted by Jan Böhmermann, is all about sports betting. As usual, Böhmermann takes a critical look at the European Championship sponsor Betano, the Tipico franchise system and the dangers of sports betting. The show hardly says a positive word about sports betting in its 20 minutes or so. So does the satirical magazine show report too negatively on the hobby of millions of Germans?

We have already reported several times in the past on documentaries and reports on all possible forms of gambling. Most recently, an article published at the end of February dealt with the critical ZDF report “Zocken bis zur Pleite”. A few days ago, the journalistic-satirical late-night show “ZDF Magazin Royale” dealt with the topic of sports betting. In the very first sentences, presenter Jan Böhmermann introduces the topic with the following statement: “And everything that sucks about soccer is bundled together in sports betting”

Is sports betting really that dangerous?

After just four minutes, “ZDF Magazin Royale” states that “around 1.3 million Germans are addicted to gambling”. We at GambleJoe also reported back in December last year that 1.3 million Germans have a “gambling disorder”. However, the BMG study was soon called into question by several parties. According to the study, the number of gambling addicts in Germany should have tripled within a very short space of time.

It is true that sports betting is fundamentally classified as gambling (“gambling with an element of skill”). Consequently, winning is largely, but not entirely, dependent on chance. As a rule, experience and personal knowledge can also influence the chances of winning. However, this factor is regularly overestimated by bettors, which in turn is the greatest danger in sports betting.

Sharp criticism of European Championship sponsor Betano

In his late-night show, presenter Jan Böhmermann takes on the official sponsors of this year's European Football Championship, among others. This is the “Betano” platform operated by the Austrian company Betkick Sportwettenservice GmbH.

First of all, Böhmermann criticizes the fact that Betano was already “the new betting provider alongside VfB Stuttgart at the start of the 2018/2019 season” - even though Betano has only held a German sports betting license since February 2021.

Furthermore, the question of whether a betting provider is a suitable sponsor for the European Football Championship can of course rightly be asked. We at GambleJoe reported back in March on the decision by UEFA and the German government to make Betano an official partner of the European Championship.

Find out more details about Betano sports betting!

Wirecard, Jan Marsalek and 1. FC Köln

As usual, presenter Böhmermann is also ironic in his search for the fugitive former Wirecard CFO Jan Marsalek. With theatrical background music, Böhmermann says into the camera "Please get in touch, we miss you, Jan". The background is that over €15,000 was transferred from a Wirecard account of a dubious gambling company to an account of 1. FC Köln in October 2016.

The second division club did not want to comment on the facts of the case when asked by ZDF. Until a few years ago, the Cologne club was still working with the gambling provider Betsafe, which also did not have a valid licence for online gambling in Germany at the time.

Tipico and FC Bayern Munich - a functioning partnership

Even the market leader Tipico was not spared by the satirical magazine. Accordingly, the customers of Tipico's betting shops were described as follows in a presentation to top management: 

"Not born in Germany, low level of education and rather low income".

It is also pointed out that, according to an analysis, most money is earned where people have little of it. Böhmermann counters this statement:

"Tipico is like Robin Hood - only in reverse. Tipi, Toppi!".

The "ZDF Magazin Royale" programme continues with Tipico's franchise system. Here, Böhmermann criticises the sometimes shady people who run the branches. For example, a man was shot dead in Schwelm, North Rhine-Westphalia, who is said to have operated over 30 Tipico branches at times. The trail here led to organised crime.

The former Hells Angels president and brothel operator Frank Hanebuth had also planned to set up several Tipico branches. However, due to the fact that he was remanded in custody, the idea never materialised.

Image source: https://www.zdf.de/comedy/zdf-magazin-royale/zdf-magazin-royale-vom-31-mai-2024-100.html (Screenshot)