The betting industry also cashes in on amateur football – although sports betting on these games is banned in Germany. Clubs and players often know nothing about it, and they come away empty-handed from the global business. And that’s not all: amateur football is at risk of manipulation – the integrity of Germany’s favorite sport is at stake! A team of investigative journalists and data experts uncovers: Hundreds of games from German top and regional leagues are offered on international betting portals – and in German too. A billion-dollar business. Many players and clubs are clueless. For example, Kirchheimer SC, a club that played in the Bayernliga in the 23/24 season. There, they only learn from BR journalists that bookmakers make money from their games – and are outraged. The players are amateurs, and only earn pocket money from football: “It’s the passion that counts, the fight on the pitch and simply the fun of the sport. I think something should be done about that,” says a young amateur player. But it’s not that simple. Where is the loophole in the system? How does the information about free kicks, yellow cards and goals in real time in the fifth league get onto the bookmakers’ websites? The suspicion: There must be someone who collects and forwards the data on site, a so-called data scout. Kirchheimer SC does not want to tolerate this any longer. With the data journalists in the background, the club officials are looking for a scout – and in doing so are doing a job that should actually be done by others. The analysis by BR Data shows that there were at least 2,700 such scout assignments at German amateur games last season. It is not for nothing that betting on amateur football is prohibited in Germany according to the State Treaty on Gambling. The risk of addiction is particularly high with these bets, as is the temptation to manipulate the games. An Austrian amateur player who could not resist and has already been sent to prison for it tells in the film how exactly such manipulations take place. Explosive: It is not only unknown providers who have bets on amateur games in their portfolio. It also concerns the really big players in the business, sponsors of the 2024 European Championship, Bundesliga clubs and even the DFB. How can that be? The Joint Gambling Authority of the States, or GGL for short, is responsible for monitoring the betting market and is surprised by the research. It promises to look into it, but ultimately sees no need for action. Its argument: Because the betting offers on amateur games are on international betting portals, nothing can be done about it. The German Football Association (DFB) is also clueless: Vice President Ronny Zimmermann, responsible for amateur football in the DFB, says in an interview: “Well, I hang out on amateur football pitches every weekend and I have never heard of the topic.
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