How one man is taking on sports betting at German soccer games

Thomas Melchior unveils a Hertha Berlin jersey before he tries to talk to Union Berlin fans about sports betting in Köpenick, Berlin

A man whose gambling addiction landed him in prison has become a social media star in Germany with an unusual campaign against sports betting at soccer stadiums.

Thomas Melchior shows up at soccer games wearing the jersey of the home team’s fiercest rival — a move sure to rile the home fans — while holding a sign that says “lost a bet.”

He uses the attention to start a conversation about the dangers of sports betting, and posts video clips of the interactions on his social media accounts.

The strategy can be risky — rival fans rarely mix at German soccer games and police go to great lengths to keep them apart to avoid trouble. Some of Melchior’s clips show him getting confronted by aggressive fans who insult him, throw beer at him or demand that he take off his jersey.

“Yes, it’s dangerous, I wouldn’t recommend it for anyone,” Melchior told The Associated Press last weekend, before he unveiled his hidden Hertha Berlin jersey at a home game of local rival Union Berlin.

The sign says he lost a bet, but Melchior lost so much more. A former bank teller, he was sentenced to 5½ years in prison in 2019 for fraud and theft offenses against strangers and people he knew after losing more than 800,000 euros ($937,000 today) on gambling. He lost his job, friends and family, too, and felt completely alone. He thought about ending his life.

Now he’s working on righting his wrongs, and repaying his debts.

“When the handcuffs clicked, it was the first moment I felt free again since my first bet. That’s when I felt I had survived gambling addiction,” Melchior said. “In that moment, I decided I would try to repair all the damage. And I wanted to get out of prison with the best possible conditions so I could inform and warn people about gambling addiction. That’s why I’m here today.”

Melchior, who has quickly built up a large following on TikTok and Instagram, received a mostly positive response from fans on Sunday — his message had already reached many through social media and some fans stopped for selfies — but there were others who expressed surprise or amusement.

“Poor sod!” some fans laughed as they kept walking. Others stopped to talk and to hear Melchior’s story and his advice to “keep your finger away from sports betting.” Some covered his Hertha shirt with Union stickers.

Coincidentally, last week the German soccer players’ union (VDV) called on the German soccer federation (DFB) to stop accepting sponsorship funds from sports betting providers and to do more to prevent gambling addiction.

“It’s unacceptable that the DFB proclaims ‘supporting effective addiction prevention’ as one of its goals in its statutes, while it simultaneously sells exorbitant amounts of advertising space to sports betting providers,” VDV vice president Maik Franz, a former Bundesliga player, said in a statement.

DFB-organized competitions including the German Cup are sponsored by an international sports betting provider — third-division teams bear its logo on their arm sleeves. Another sports betting provider previously sponsored the division.

Franz accused the DFB of “damaging football’s reputation and enriching itself at the expense of people with gambling addictions and their families.”

The DFB didn’t respond to a request for comment. CIARÁN FAHEY, BERLIN, MDT/AP