The new series “Cosmos of Online Casinos”: Are the Bild-Plus articles worthwhile?

“Bild” now wants to educate readers about online casinos. In the meantime, it is even believed that playing in online casinos with an EU license is 100% legal.

The Bild newspaper currently wants to serve the area of online gambling with its Plus articles. I had already presented the newspaper’s first findings about sports betting earlier.

In the meantime there are also picture articles about online casinos. Among other things, it shows that playing in online casinos with an EU license is 100% legal for players. Especially after the articles about “gamble without risk of loss”, where it was about chargebacks of gambling stakes, it is a big surprise thematically.

What do the new Bild-Plus articles on online casinos currently include?

There are three articles so far. One is investigating whether online casinos are currently legal in Germany. A second article shows what to look for when choosing reputable online casinos. A third article describes what needs to be considered when playing in the online casino.

All articles are aimed at beginners. The basics for online gambling are taught by the Bild newspaper. You shouldn’t expect more from the Bild-Plus articles.

What general tips are given for online casinos?

One of the articles provides very general tips and tricks for dealing with online casinos. If you think about it, you would surely get most of the knowledge yourself. The advice may be especially helpful for newbies:

• Play for fun only! Gamblers should primarily understand gambling as entertainment and not as a way to win money. For this reason, the motivation for visiting an online casino should only be fun and the pleasure of thrills.
• Legal situation: The legal situation regarding online gambling is difficult in EU, but it is 100% legal to play in online casinos with an EU license.
• Higher chances of winning on the Internet: Baccarat, blackjack and roulette are said to have the same chances of winning in online casinos as in casinos. When it comes to slot machines, it is mentioned that the payout ratio in online casinos is more than 90% higher than in the land-based casino. There has been no fixed payout ratio there since 2006. It is estimated between 60% and 65%. If you want to find out more about the differences between arcades, casinos and online casinos, we have our own article on GambleJoe.
• Beware of the welcome bonus: a casino will not give players any money, so you always have to wager a welcome bonus before you can withdraw it. Sometimes it is better to completely forego the bonus. You can find more general information about the bonus on our bonus page and in the guides.
• Limits: You can set at least limits for the deposit. But there is also loss and use. You should definitely set limits if you have problems. Every casino also offers self-locking. However, there is no uniform lock file, so you have to be locked individually at each casino or each casino group. There is more information on the blocks in the guide on the topic “Blocks and Limits”.
• Attention players fallacy: There is a mistake in thinking that players like to be subject to. A random event is not mathematically more likely because it has not happened for a long time. For example, in roulette the chance of a red number coming up may be 48.6%. However, there may be a black series of 10 numbers. Each shoot should be viewed as an independent event for which the same opportunities apply mathematically.

Are online casinos really legal in Germany?

The article “Is it legal to play in an online casino at all?” Describes that there is only one German gambling license for online casinos. This comes from Schleswig-Holstein and actually only players from the state can use it.

The players in the rest of Germany use gambling providers with a European license from Gibraltar, Malta, Great Britain or the Isle of Man. The lawyer Michael Schmittmann was questioned about the legality. He is a partner of the Heuking law firm and a specialist in gaming law, IT and cyber security. In 2017 he was awarded the “Lawyer of the Year”. He is quoted as follows:

Playing in an online casino with an EU license is 100% legal. EU member states such as Malta have been granting licenses for online casinos and using the freedom to provide services in the European Union according to strict guidelines for many years – this also allows German players to use these services.

In the past, we have always represented online gambling as a gray area. The current German State Treaty on Gaming states that gambling is prohibited on the Internet (GlüStV §4 Paragraph 4).

So far, there has only been one lawsuit against a blackjack player from Munich that was published. In the second instance, he was acquitted by the Munich I Regional Court. The court had ruled that German law does not apply in this case. No player has been charged since then.

With high profits of over 10,000 euros, however, there were occasional reports that investigations into money laundering had been initiated. So far we only know acquittals, but you should know that there has been something like this in the past.

Tips for finding reputable online casinos

The Bild newspaper even gives German players tips in the new series on how to find reputable online casinos.

1. First impression: The layout and design should be such that you like to gamble away money.
2. Licenses: Malta, UK Gambling Commission, Isle of Man, Gibraltar and the Danish license are considered serious. However, there are warnings about overseas licenses such as Costa Rica. On the other hand, there is no mention of the Curacao licenses. More information on the concessions can be found in the article on European gaming licenses.
3. Support: Email, chat and hotline are standard for Bild at online casinos and should be available from reputable providers.
4. Addiction help: Reputable online casinos offer links to contact persons for addiction problems. It would be best if you could already set limits when registering. The latter is only offered by a few online casinos.
5. Security: SSL certificates, independent testing organizations such as iTechLabs or eCOGRA and software from large vending machine manufacturers such as Playtech, NetEnt, Microgaming or Bally Wulff are signs of reputable providers.
6. AGB and ANB: The general terms and conditions and general terms of use should be available in your country. In the “General” area you should look at the license. You also have to consider the bonus conditions.

Conclusion: good advice to get started, but nothing more

Overall, the guides to getting started with online gambling are certainly not bad. Nevertheless, you should take a closer look, for example, in our casino comparison or under our online casino list, how to find the best online casinos for yourself. It is certainly helpful to have a look at our advice if you have questions about the payout rate or how slot machines work.

For beginners, 3 good online casinos are worth mentioning here, where you can play without hesitation, since they are reputable gaming providers.