Sports betting has been a popular pastime for many Germans for some years now. Only a few see it as a means to improve their finances on a grand scale, which is quite possible, but the majority see sports betting as a hobby. It is fun to deal with the topic of sport in general, to exchange ideas with players on the betting platforms and of course to compete with them and put your own knowledge to the test. Meanwhile, many millions of people in Germany play regularly and, as I said, they are by far not only sports experts. If one has interest in it, also an active part of sport bets to become, first the question arises, where one places the bets and which is to be considered with the choice of the offerer. This will be explained in the following article.

Sports betting in Germany – a new hobby

Betting, gambling and sports betting have in principle always existed. However, all of them have been discredited throughout history. For example, the Roman Emperor Nero managed to win the Olympic Games in 67 in six different disciplines. This includes the car race and that, although he even fell out of the car – which leads to disqualification according to the rules. He achieved his success through sufficient bribery. Unfortunately, this was not an isolated case, which ultimately led to sports betting and gambling no longer having an immaculate reputation in today’s society. But back to the future, sports betting is now done on the Internet. This option has been available to Germans since 2011. Before that, there were already online sports bets, but only via foreign servers and not quite legally. This was followed by a partial opening for the industry, which made it possible for bettors to pursue their hobby legally and for companies to access new customers. The German state was thus able to better regulate the market and got a piece of the cake with the betting tax of five percent. This is why online sports betting is a proverbial new hobby in Germany. A new way to pass the time and similar to online trading, a leisure activity where you can earn a few euros on the side.

Thus sport bets run off today

Before we get to the points where you can find a betting provider and what to look out for when making your selection, we will briefly explain how sports betting works. The Internet and technological progress have created many new opportunities. Who would have thought at the turn of the millennium that you could communicate over the continents via video chat without time delay or annoying jerking? It has also made it easier to place sports bets. Today you no longer have to go to a betting office, but can go online and place bets from the comfort of your own home, on the train, with friends or in a bar. Meanwhile there are numerous sports, leagues and endless betting options. A bookmaker, as the betting providers are also called, manages around forty different sports, including basketball, football, Formula 1, tennis, golf, handball, athletics and a few more. Then there are the different leagues. But these do not only refer to Germany. You can place bets on the Italian, English, French, Spanish, American, in short, on almost all countries of the world and their sports leagues. In the German Bundesliga, bets are possible up to the fourth league. You choose a sport and the suitable league in the respective country, look for a suitable game, race or other sports event and then for an attractive betting option. A betting option is a single bet offered for the sporting event. A concrete example would be the winner of a game. If one recognizes a bet option, which is risk-free and has a good odds, i.e. a profit margin, one can enter an amount and place the bet. The whole procedure may read a bit longer and sounds complicated, but in the end the placing of a bet is completed within a few seconds.

Finding the right betting provider

But in order to be able to place sports bets at all, you have to create a user account with a betting provider. As well as the many possible bets, there are also numerous providers. Of course you can find them on the internet. There are big companies, which are to be seen in the advertising break or on posters, as well as new offerers, which show possibly even better odds. First of all it has to be mentioned that the choice for a bookmaker is an individual decision. Every provider has different advantages and disadvantages and there is not one perfect bookmaker. Otherwise, all customers would only be registered with the bookmaker. The bookmakers can all be found on https://www.lolbettingsites.com/. On this comparison page both the established and new providers are listed.

The criteria for a serious bookmaker

The large selection raises the question of what makes a good provider. The first and most important criterion for a good, serious bookmaker is the licence for gambling. Sports betting and gambling are regulated in Germany by a law, the so-called Gambling Act. The licence comes from Malta, Gibraltar, Curacao, England or Schleswig-Holstein. It is the legal basis for the fact that the offer of the bet offerers is legal and without concerns an account can be opened and bets be transacted. Next important criterion are the certificates, of which a provider can also have more. It is like a kind of seal of quality and the more a platform has of it, the better and safer the site is. From German side such certificates come from the TÜV or the German Lotteriegesellschaft. A certificate, which is often connected with a detailed test, gives information about the security of the site, the variety and the quality of the offer, the service and support or also the amount of the quotas. You don’t have to search long for the certificates and licenses. The betting providers usually present these proudly at first glance on their home page. If this is not the case, you should look for another provider. Further decision criteria are a competent and easy to reach customer service as well as numerous positive customer ratings on different platforms. There has already been the case with online casinos that there are fake customer reviews on Internet portals that a fake provider rated as good and trustworthy, whereby many opened an account there and deposited money. With the above mentioned link such providers are not available. If you find a provider with a valid license, several certificates and positive customer ratings, you are on the safe side.