Illegal betting
Ex-Bundesliga professional gambles away a million euros
02/25/2026 – 7:55 a.mReading time: 2 minutes
A former Bundesliga player bet on games in his own league for years – despite a clear ban. He suspects that he is not an isolated case.
A former Bundesliga professional violated the betting ban of the DFB and DFL for years and, according to his own statements, lost around one million euros. In an interview with “Stern” magazine, the former player, who remains anonymous, reports that he regularly bet on games in his own league and estimates that several teammates on each of his teams acted similarly.
The player claims that he has never bet on his own games. “Without having bought a betting slip beforehand, I didn’t play many games anymore. I only really had fun when I bet,” he told “Stern”.
His addiction to betting began at poker nights with teammates. As the salary increased, so did the stakes. Towards the end of his career he placed bets “on around 25 of the 34 Bundesliga match days per season”.
His assessment of the spread of the problem is particularly explosive: “In every team I was on, I knew players who bet,” explained the ex-professional. He estimates that “probably two to three per team” also bet on football games.
The bets were made through unofficial platforms and intermediaries tailored to athletes. Some settlement was made in cash. Despite occasionally high winnings of “sometimes 30,000 or 40,000 euros on a match day” he “always went for it in the end”.
The betting ban for active players is intended to prevent conflicts of interest and the appearance of possible manipulation. Violations can result in severe sanctions, including long bans or consequences under labor law. Nevertheless, the appeal outweighed the ex-professional: “The adrenaline rush was always there.”
