BERLIN (AP) — 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 on Sunday, before he unveiled his hidden Hertha Berlin jersey at a home game of local rival Union Berlin.
Determined to repay debts
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.
Players' union slams federation
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.”
But many Bundesliga and second division clubs, including Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, and Bayer Leverkusen, also advertise sports betting providers — on their jerseys, on advertising hoardings, showing they’re profiting, too. Sports betting providers also dominate TV advertising slots.
“Omnipresent advertising is already triggering children and young people,” Franz said.
The DFB didn't respond to a request for comment.
Travel plans
Melchior told The AP he became addicted after his first bet on a Champions League game.
“I saw an advert for a betting provider and didn’t think anything bad about it because it was on TV, and I could never imagine that it was a problem in any way. That’s how my journey began, and 13 years later, I was arrested,” Melchior said.
Melchior wants to take his campaign abroad, too. But his criminal record makes it difficult for him to travel, foiling his plan to attend the Manchester derby earlier this month, when he wanted to wear a Manchester United jersey at Manchester City’s stadium.
“Gambling addiction isn’t (just) a national, purely German problem. Gambling addiction is a global problem. That’s why we’re planning to go to other countries,” Melchior said. “Because of my criminal record, I can’t get a visa just like that. I have to apply for one at the embassy. It takes a bit longer. But I’m sure if that works out, we’ll see each other in England very soon.”
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