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Germans Still Gambling Despite Ban

A new poll of German citizens has shown that attempts to ban online gambling there are overall ineffective, with almost as many people betting on the web this year as there were last year.

The poll, conducted by the Association of Information Technology, Telecommunications and New Media (Bitkom), found that around 2 million German adults use the Internet for betting in the form of either lotteries, sports betting or playing poker. That number was down only slightly from last year's study, which found that 2.2 million Germans gamble online. Interestingly, this year's study found that only 300,000 women gambled online, meaning they constitute just 15 percent of German online gamblers.

The study, which was formulated from interviews with 1000 people, found that lotteries were still the most favored form of gambling in Europe's most populous country, with 59% of online gamblers saying they participated in the activity. Poker was second most popular, with 22 percent, and sports wagering came in not far behind at 18%. Overall, most respondents were found to have bet around 20 Euros a month, although one third of them said they bet more than that amount.

Pro-gambling advocates will use the study to push for a change in the law in Germany. Online gambling is currently in a state of limbo there, as all 16 German states have banned it, but the ruling is being challenged before the European Union courts.