Zockerhelden
Zockerhelden is a German legal services company that helps individuals recover gambling losses from unlicensed online casinos, sports betting, and poker operators in Germany and Austria via a celebrity-led, self-serve, contingency-fee model backed by a partner law firm and litigation funder.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2022
- HeadquartersMarkdorf, Germany
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Zockerhelden does
Zockerhelden UG (haftungsbeschränkt) is a German legal services company headquartered in Markdorf (Baden-Württemberg) that helps individuals recover gambling losses from unlicensed or non-compliant online casinos, sports betting operators, and online poker providers in Germany and Austria. Founded in 2020 by Werner Hansch — a nationally recognized former football commentator and gambling-addiction survivor who personally lost €500,000–€600,000 — and Marc Ellerbrock, a Fachanwalt für Bank- und Kapitalmarktrecht, the company operates in close, exclusive cooperation with the law firm BEMK Rechtsanwälte PartGmbB, which handles all legal representation, document review, and litigation. The core offering covers losses up to 10 years retroactively and is delivered through a self-serve direct-to-consumer funnel on zockerhelden.de, anchored by a free 'Schnelltest' (quick-test) eligibility check that takes under two minutes. An independent litigation funder (Prozesskostenfinanzierer) covers all court, attorney, and expert costs for qualifying clients in exchange for a share of recoveries, enabling zero-upfront-cost claims.
The company's revenue model is contingency-based: Zockerhelden takes an agreed success fee from recovered amounts, with no upfront fee to the client when litigation funding is used; cases without funder financing follow the standard German RVG fee schedule. The partner law firm reports more than 1,000 matters handled at a 95%+ success rate, evidenced by dozens of published 2023–2025 court rulings against named operators including Tipico, Bwin (Electra Works), PokerStars (TSG Interactive), bet365 (Hillside), Interwetten, and Betway. Supporting products include the Mandantenbereich client portal (with monthly live Teams calls hosted by Hansch), a monthly Zockerhelden Podcast, prevention lectures at schools and sports clubs, and a directory of gambling-addiction support centers. All technology consists of a standard CMS-based website and protected client area; there is no app, API, or proprietary AI/ML component disclosed.
Distribution is anchored by Hansch's celebrity profile across ARD, ZDF, RTL, ProSieben, Sat.1, and VOX — including a 2024 appearance on Die Höhle der Löwen — supplemented by organic social media (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn), the monthly podcast, in-person prevention events, and a referral partnership with Sport-Care for addiction support. Services are limited to Germany and Austria; Switzerland and other countries are explicitly out of scope. The company is privately held by its two co-founders, with Marc Ellerbrock as sole managing director (Geschäftsführer), and has not raised institutional capital.
Zockerhelden firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Zockerhelden
- Legal name
- Zockerhelden UG (haftungsbeschränkt)
- Website
- https://zockerhelden.de
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2022
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Zockerhelden is a German legal services company that helps individuals recover gambling losses from unlicensed online casinos, sports betting, and poker operators in Germany and Austria via a celebrity-led, self-serve, contingency-fee model backed by a partner law firm and litigation funder.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Zockerhelden industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Consumer Legal Services (Gambling Loss Recovery)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Chargeback, Fraud & Risk Management for Gaming Payments (MPAEALAI)
Keywords
Where Zockerhelden is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Markdorf
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Zockerhelden business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Contingency fee on recovered gambling losses: Zockerhelden generates revenue by taking a success fee (agreed percentage) from the amounts recovered for clients in litigation. Clients have two options: (1) with an independent litigation funder (Prozesskostenfinanzierer) — the funder covers all legal costs and receives a share of the recovered amount; (2) standard cost risk without a funder — client pays legal fees per the German lawyers' fee schedule (RVG). The company charges no upfront fees to clients when the litigation funder is used.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Outcome Based/ Performance | Pay-as-you-go | Litigation funder option (zero upfront cost to client) |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels7 records
Zockerhelden product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Zockerhelden is a German legal services company that helps individual consumers recover gambling losses (deposits minus withdrawals) from unlicensed online casinos, sports betting operators, and online poker providers that operated without a valid German license or violated deposit-limit and self-exclusion rules. Claims can be pursued retroactively up to 10 years. The firm operates through a partner law firm (BEMK Rechtsanwälte PartGmbB) and offers an optional no-cost litigation funding pathway in partnership with an independent Prozesskostenfinanzierer, enabling clients to pursue claims with zero upfront financial risk on a contingency-fee basis.
Product overview
Zockerhelden is a specialized legal services company offering a unified service portfolio centered on helping individuals recover gambling losses from unlicensed online casinos, sports betting, and poker providers in Germany and Austria. The core offering consists of the Geld-zurück Schnelltest (free eligibility check), the Glücksspielverluste Rückholung (gambling loss recovery service) with optional Prozesskostenfinanzierung (litigation financing) to eliminate client financial risk, and a Mandantenbereich (client portal) providing exclusive content and Werner Hansch video sessions. Supporting products include the Zockerhelden Podcast for awareness, Präventionsveranstaltungen (prevention events) for education, and Suchthilfe resources for addiction support. The company operates primarily through a partner law firm with over 1,000 proceedings and 95%+ success rate.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Glücksspielverluste Rückholung (Gambling Loss Recovery Service)
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 95% success rate across more than 1,000 cases
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Zockerhelden
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Zockerhelden technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Zockerhelden partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- BEMK Rechtsanwälte PartGmbBcoreZockerhelden operates in close and exclusive cooperation with BEMK Rechtsanwälte PartGmbB, a law firm based in Markdorf. The law firm provides all legal representation, filing, and litigation services. Marc Ellerbrock, managing director of Zockerhelden UG and specialist lawyer (Fachanwalt) for banking and capital markets law, leads the legal team. The firm guarantees processing of gaming statements within 7 days and lawsuit filing within 7 days of mandate.
- Sport-Care (sport-care.de)minorSport-Care is referenced as a partner organization providing gambling addiction support resources. Zockerhelden links to sport-care.de and incorporates its logo in its partnership section, suggesting a referral or informational partnership related to gambling harm prevention.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Zockerhelden competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Geblitzt.de (LexFox): German legaltech for contesting traffic fines via lawyer network on contingency/no-upfront-cost basis. Shares Zockerhelden's no-upfront, funder-supported consumer-claims model and target audience of cost-sensitive individual claimants.
- RightNow (Consumer Claims): German consumer-claims legaltech pursuing mass refunds (e.g., airline tickets, energy, banking fees) on a contingency basis. Comparable tech-enabled mass consumer litigation model in adjacent verticals.
- Flightright: German legaltech platform pursuing mass consumer claims (flight delays/cancellations) on a contingency fee basis with embedded litigation funding. Comparable business model — funder-backed mass-claim litigation for individuals — but in an adjacent vertical rather than gambling.
- Advocado: German legaltech marketplace connecting consumers with lawyers across multiple claim categories. Adjacent player in consumer legal services distribution; could serve as a competing acquisition channel for gambling-loss claimants.
Direct peers
- KSP Rechtsanwälte (Dr. Stoll & Partner): One of Germany's most prominent law firms specializing in gambling loss recovery against online casinos, sportsbooks and poker operators. Direct competitor in the same niche with overlapping target market (German gambling-loss claimants) and identical contingency-fee economics.
- Tietmann Rechtsanwälte: Specialist German firm focused on online gambling loss claims and consumer protection. Direct peer in the same vertical with overlapping defendant set and claimant acquisition channels.
- Dr. Schulte und Partner Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft: German consumer-protection law firm actively advertising gambling loss recovery (Glücksspielverluste) against unlicensed online operators. Direct peer serving the same claimant cohort with a comparable recovery-focused service offering.
- Hahn Rechtsanwälte: German law firm running dedicated gambling-loss recovery practice against unlicensed online casino and sports-betting operators. Competes head-to-head for the same German claimants on a similar contingency basis.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Zockerhelden social profiles
Digital presenceZockerhelden financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Zockerhelden leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Zockerhelden funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Zockerhelden M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Zockerhelden
What does Zockerhelden do?
Zockerhelden is a German legal services company that helps individual consumers recover gambling losses (deposits minus withdrawals) from unlicensed online casinos, sports betting operators, and online poker providers that operated without a valid German license or violated deposit-limit and self-exclusion rules. Claims can be pursued retroactively up to 10 years. The firm operates through a partner law firm (BEMK Rechtsanwälte PartGmbB) and offers an optional no-cost litigation funding pathway in partnership with an independent Prozesskostenfinanzierer, enabling clients to pursue claims with zero upfront financial risk on a contingency-fee basis.
Is Zockerhelden a public or private company?
Zockerhelden is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Zockerhelden founded?
Zockerhelden was founded in 2022. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Zockerhelden based?
Zockerhelden is headquartered in Markdorf, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does Zockerhelden make money?
One revenue line is on record: contingency fee on recovered gambling losses.
Who are Zockerhelden's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are Geblitzt.de (LexFox), RightNow (Consumer Claims), Flightright and Advocado. Direct peers are KSP Rechtsanwälte (Dr. Stoll & Partner), Tietmann Rechtsanwälte, Dr. Schulte und Partner Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft and Hahn Rechtsanwälte.
Does Zockerhelden have an API?
No public API is recorded for Zockerhelden.
What industry is Zockerhelden in?
Zockerhelden's product category is Consumer Legal Services (Gambling Loss Recovery). Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAEALAI, Chargeback, Fraud & Risk Management for Gaming Payments.