“No bet, no game.” If you’re watching the World Cup, you’re bound to have seen it. And even if you’re boycotting it or aren’t interested in football, it’s still hard to miss. Adverts for online sports betting urging you to place a bet are all over our screens! And many people are tempted. By the end of the tournament, wagers can reach 60 billion worldwide. But this figure goes hand in hand with another reality: that of the money lost. According to Addiction France, nearly 4.8 million euros were lost every day on sports betting in 2025 – that’s around 1.8 billion euros over the year. In the space of a decade, Thomas lost nearly 800,000 euros and a few years of his life. Today, in Germany, he raises awareness outside stadiums, in schools and on his Instagram account about the dangers of these addictive bets.
© Victoria Stampfer — Sphera Network
MAGDEBURG, 24 JUNE 2026
I’ll never forget my first bet. It was the 22nd of Novembre 2005 and I was watching a Champions League game. During halftime, I went to get myself a drink and a gambling ad came on. I was fascinated. It told me that if you had knowledge of sport, you could easily earn some money. And at that time, I did have knowledge of sport, it’s always been an interest of mine, and on top of that I also worked in a bank, so I had a financial understanding. It was the perfect mix, I thought.
I placed 10 euros. At the end of the game, I got 11 euros back. So my first win was one euro. This one euro was the beginning of my gambling addiction. A win that had me hooked for the next 13 years.
But in my bank clerk mind, it wasn’t just a euro, it was 10% of my initial bet. Ten percent in 45 minutes, that’s a lot, I thought. And I wondered: okay, what if I I didn’t place €10 but €100? Or €1,000?
And just like that, something switched in my head, I started thinking about gambling non-stop. In the morning I immediately had a look at the program to see what bets were on that day. I woke up thinking about gambling and I went to bed thinking about gambling.
Within half a year, all my savings were gone —€50,000.
If I had only stopped there, I could have still turned things around. I thought about it. But as soon as I wasn’t able to place a bet, I started getting restless–just like with any other addiction. And there was a voice in my head telling me: go on, bet one more. So I did. And the problems started getting bigger and bigger.
I lost everything, one after the another: my job, my flat—because I wasn’t able to pay my rent—, my girlfriend, and my family. By the end, I even almost lost myself, because I began thinking about suicide.
I lost all hope. I was completely overwhelmed with problems. But I tried to solve the problems gambling had created, with more gambling. Which is very typical with gambling addictions; you try to get the money back by the same means you lost it in the first place. I could place 50, 60, 70 bets a day, some I would win, most I would lose. During the last year and half of my addiction I placed more than €1 million worth of bets, with just one gambling company.
The only thing that made me stop was going to prison.
On the 18th of January 2019, I was arrested and sentenced to 5 and a half years because I had stolen from and swindled people to get my hands on some money. I’d been dreading this day, but it saved me. This very difficult period was finally over.
When the handcuffs were placed around my wrists, I felt free for the first time since my first bet.
Being in prison gave me the chance to think about how I wanted to do things differently. And I felt like I had to share my experience. I wanted to talk openly about my story, about the dangers of gambling addiction, to raise awareness in order to prevent people from making the same mistakes I did.
Because back then, people didn’t talk about it much. And if there’s one piece of advice I’d give to someone suffering from this addiction who wants to break free, it’s to speak out. Don’t think you can solve your problems on your own. Talk to your loved ones, because very often they don’t realise what’s happening to you — unlike other substance addictions, a gambling addiction doesn’t show on your face; it’s very easy to hide. Talk to addiction counsellors — there are plenty of them in many countries.
Today gambling ads are everywhere. But there are no ads talking about the dangers of sports betting. So nine months ago, I decided to do it myself. I created a sign saying: “I lost a bet”. And I carried it to different games and stood in front of stadiums wearing the t-shirt of the local team’s biggest rival.
And I got a lot of attention. At first people would come up to me and say: “what are you doing?” “Are you crazy?”
And I tell them that actually I didn’t lose just one bet, I lost tens of thousands of bets.
The conversations that follow are always interesting. A lot of people tell me they have the same problems right now, or they know somebody in the same situation. Finally, people have started talking about this issue in Germany. Although it doesn’t solve everything, these conversations are necessary.
Because I post the videos of myself in front of stadiums on Instagram, a lot of younger people also know about me, and they often tell me: “Now we know about the dangers of gambling. We thought about trying to place a bet because everybody does it, but now we know we don’t want to start.” For me that’s what makes a difference, I try to get in there before people place their first bet. It’s not about banning bets, it’s about raising awareness, telling another story, other than the ones told by gambling companies. It’s never you, the player, who wins, it’s always them. And you may lose big.
— THOMAS
Toolkit:
🇪🇺 The Gamban app allows you to restrict access to online betting sites on your phone or computer.
🇬🇧 In the UK, the organisation Chapter One provides support and information to people with gambling problems. – GAMSTOP apps allow you to self-exclude from legal betting companies or restrict access to these sites on your phone or computer.
🇫🇷 In France, the Joueurs Info Service helpline (+339 74 75 13 13) is available from 8am to 2am, seven days a week, for anyone wishing to discuss their addiction – The EvaluJeu platform allows you to assess your gaming habits – The centres for treatment, support and prevention of addiction (CSAPA), listed on the ANPAA website, offer support for people struggling with gambling.
🇩🇪 In Germany, you can find an addiction support centre on the Sozial Plattform and assess your gambling behaviour on Check Dein Spil
🇮🇹 In Italy, the Istituto Superiore di Sanità has released a map of the 236 centers located throughout the country that treat gambling disorders, categorized by the types of treatment they offer.
Our picks
Two films and a bit of music:
A banker with a gambling addiction and access to numerous people’s bank accounts – that’s the premise for the film “Owning Mahowny”, a film inspired by the true story of Brian Molony, who embezzled $10 million to feed his addiction. The only sure-fire winner in this story? Philip Seymour Hoffman in the lead role.
— Recommended by Hélène, journalist
To lighten the mood a little on a subject that is anything but light-hearted, I was reminded of an Italian comedy from the 1970s that has become a cult film: “Horse Fever” (Febbre da cavallo in Italian), which recounts the escapades of three friends grappling with a dangerous and doomed passion for horse racing, as well as all the schemes they devise to fund it. The soundtrack is a real gem.
— Recommended by Marco, journalist
“The winner takes it all/The loser standing small” I know full well that when Agnetha Fältskog of ABBA sings these lyrics, she was referring to a break-up. But I think they also fit Thomas’s story very well, because in his case more than ever, “the winner takes it all” and leaves the loser with nothing.
— Recommended by Hélène, journalist
