Many travelers shake their heads about the unreliability of Deutsche Bahn. There are numerous sarcastic comments, memes and videos about it on the internet.

Someone who has been making fun of Deutsche Bahn for a long time is the Austrian Caio van Caarven. The author runs an Instagram channel on which he recently published animated videos about the company.

“Bahn.bet”: A betting portal for train delays

“In one episode I made the joke that Deutsche Bahn’s ticket prices were like gambling – and then I thought to myself: Why not?” he explains when asked by FOCUS online.

It was the starting signal for a new project: “bahn.bet”. Users can bet on the platform how late individual trains will be. “Bahn.bet” has existed since March 3rd and, according to van Caarven, had more than 50,000 visitors in the first 24 hours.

In the beginning, it was mainly his Instagram followers who went to the site, he says. “But the project went viral very quickly. You see real train connections with real-time data from Deutsche Bahn, choose a connection and bet on how many minutes the train will be late.”

Depending on how close users come with their estimates to the actual delay, they receive “Caßh”. This is a fictitious currency. According to his own statements, Van Caarven is working on a few “sweet, purely cosmetic in-game goodies and other digital extras” that users can spend their “Caßh” on in the future.

“I have survived the DB delays often enough”

“Bahn.bet” is free and not commercial per se. But: “You can buy T-shirts from my merch collection to support the project. Otherwise it would not be affordable due to the very high server costs alone,” says the inventor.

Now one could accuse Caarven of being an Austrian and making fun of a German service. He says he travels with Deutsche Bahn often enough to be able to judge.

“In December I drove from Vienna to Copenhagen and was delayed a total of over ten hours. I have experienced the DB’s painful delays often enough to be able to make fun of them,” said the artist.

Furthermore: If trains in Austria are late, this could also be related to the DB. “Often enough the announcement comes ‘The reason for this is a delay from the neighboring country’, and we always know which neighboring country it was.”

“Bahn.bet” is legal because there is no real money involved

“Bahn.bet” is currently not a game of chance in the legal sense, as the lawyer Thomas Dünchheim, who specializes in public commercial and gambling law, explains in an interview with FOCUS online.

“Since there is only a fictitious currency to be won, the game is not paid,” he says. That would be a central prerequisite for classification as a game of chance. In addition, the “Caßh” won cannot be exchanged for monetary items.

“The fact that fan articles are also sold and donations are possible to the site operator does not change this. These payments have no connection with any chances of winning in the game,” says Dünchheim.

This is how consumers bet seriously

In principle, betting with money on sporting events is legal in Germany, but strictly regulated, according to the lawyer. Corresponding bets in other areas – such as on political events, court rulings and natural disasters such as those at Polymarket – are largely prohibited in this country.

“The most important thing is the State Treaty on Gambling of the federal states. Providers usually need state approval and must meet numerous requirements for player and youth protection,” says Dünchheim.

When it comes to “gaming offers with money”, consumers should pay attention to whether a provider is reputable and has the necessary permits. According to the lawyer, this can be checked at the Joint Gaming Authority of the States: Published on your website They have a “whitelist” of permitted gambling providers.

Schleswig-Holstein and gambling

Van Caarven has included a satirical commentary about Schleswig-Holstein on the “bahn.bet” page. It says: “For legal reasons, all Bahn-Bet users, their devices and their emotional baggage are hereby classified as legal residents of Schleswig-Holstein.”

At “bahn.bet” it is understood as a joke. There is a special reason why the northern federal state is often referred to in connection with gambling. Because Schleswig-Holstein took a special path in 2011, says Dünchheim.

“With its own, more liberal gambling law, it was the only country to leave the group of states and allowed games of chance that were banned in other countries.” At that time, separate licenses were also issued to providers. In the advertising they had to point out that the offers were legally only permitted in Schleswig-Holstein.

Dünchheim: “As early as 2012, the successor government in Schleswig-Holstein decided to join the State Treaty on Gambling, so that this special route no longer plays a legal role today – after the approvals issued in Schleswig-Holstein have expired.”

DB has not yet contacted van Caarven

“bahn.bet” is well received on social networks. There’s even a dedicated thread on Reddit titled “New Hobby: Railway Delay Trading”. It has thousands of upvotes. Many users find the post good, helpful or interesting.

This is also reflected in the written reactions. “How awesome is this website,” writes someone. Another user commented: “Funny and sad at the same time.” Incidentally, Deutsche Bahn has not yet contacted van Caarven, he says. “The reaction is probably delayed, as expected.”