In this article, we’ll take a look at the full potential of this Germany for gaming affiliates and assess the quantity and quality of potential leads.
German Facts and Figures
Germany is a leading economic powerhouse on the world’s stage. But how does it stack up? Here are some of the key facts and figures to get a quick overview of the GEO.
Population - 83 million
Average age - 44
State domain - .de
Phone code - +49
GDP per capita - $46,273
Currency - euro (EUR)
Religion - 65% Christians (mostly Catholics)
Capital - Berlin (population - 3.6 million)
National language - German
Minimum wage - 1584 EUR/month
Average net salary - 2315 euro/month
The majority of Germans live in large cities and of these people, there are a healthy number of millionaires. Here are a few cities based with the largest populations of millionaires.
Hamburg - 1.8 million
Munich - 1.4 million
Cologne - 1 million
In addition to ethnic Germans (92%), there are also Serbs, Danes, Turks and natives of CIS countries living in various provinces of the country.
There are more men than women living in Germany. 25-45 year olds make up 24.8% of the population, with the main age group being 45-65 years old with 29.8% of people in this group.
It is important to take into account that there are a lot of immigrants in the country (19.2% of the population). In fact, there are approximately 230,000 migrants from Afghanistan alone.
Most of the population speaks native German, but many also speak other world languages. According to local data, approximately 6 million people in the country know and use Russian (about 3 million of whom are immigrants), while more than 2 million speak Turkish, Danish and Italian.
The German Mentality
Germans are frugal savers who are used to spending less than they earn, while saving for a rainy day. The average German puts about €180 a month into savings.
One striking feature of ethnic Germans is their seriousness and pedantry. They are not prone to spontaneous purchases, despite having the purchasing power. That being said, there is another side to the country, highlighted by the top ten most visited online resources always including porn sites. More on this later…
The Human Development Index in Germany shows that Germany has one of the highest levels of literacy and life satisfaction in the world, with a score of 0.947. Germans are very concerned about their comfort and are not used to overwork. Working hours are highly regulated here, with everyone going home at the right time at the end of the working day.
A strong social policy is one of the first things that attracts immigrants to Germany. The majority of the population has health and social insurance, which provides a social security benefit in case of disability of 432 euro/month. It is worth noting that many take advantage of this, as you can live comfortably on benefits if you don’t have to pay rent.
For all their stinginess regarding money and emotions, Germans still celebrate 15 official public holidays a year, most of which are timed to coincide with Christian traditions (Christmas, the Trinity, Easter). These holidays are often preceded by various sales, which can be advantageously used in advertising creatives.
German Internet
90% of the population has access to the Internet and the majority of Internet users are men over 35.
Popular mobile phone and internet providers in Germany:
- Deutsche Telekom (formerly T-Mobile);
- O2 (in association with E-Plus);
- Vodafone Germany;
- Blau;
- 1&1.
Residents of Germany use mobile Internet more often than wi-fi to access the global network. 87% of users use social networks and visit websites from their smartphones on a daily basis.
The 10 most visited sites by Germans are:
- google.com
- youtube.com
- google.de
- amazon.de
- facebook.com
- ebay.de
- wikipedia.org
- ebay-kleinanzeigen.de
- xhamster.com
- pornhub.com
Note that the last 2 on their list are porn sites. Germany also has a high divorce rate, with every third marriage ending in divorce.
Payment systems common in Germany:
- PayPal
- Mastercard
- Visa
- Klarna
- e-Wallets
- Apple Pay
- Google Pay
- Giropay
Based on divorce statistics, it appears that quite solvent men aged 35+ are often single. They have free time and money, which they are happy not only to save, but also to spend on their entertainment, including multiple subscriptions to porn sites.
German Gambling
Casino ranks second on the list of favourite pastimes after adult entertainment. Germans are not too quick to gamble, but after a couple of glasses of beer they are willing to try their luck with online games and slots. Sports and betting are also quite popular.
Land-based casinos in Germany are legal and bring in more than 640 million euros a year to the treasury. Roulette, baccarat, blackjack, punto banco and craps are among the most popular games. At the same time online gambling is often prohibited, however, a small number of sites with sports betting are still licensed allowing.
Two top game software developers are based in Germany - Bally Wulff Automaten and the Gauselmann Group. Germans love to play Book of Ra, Lucky Lady’s Charm, Game of Thrones, Jurassic Park, Sherlock Mystery, Spiderman and The Avengers.
Lifecycles for affiliates
Due to the large number of immigrants living in Germany, it is important to bear in mind that 35-year-old single men may well not be native Germans. For this reason, in your advertising creatives, make sure that they are adapted to the language of the device from which the user is accessing the network.
Adult themes can be safely used in any creatives to attract the attention of German users.
Facebook remains the top traffic source for Germany. It accounts for 35 million German users, which is almost half of all local users on the network as a whole. Google Ads, pushes and teasers are also doing well.
GEO Germany: Conclusions
Germany is one of the most solvent countries in the world. It is both possible and necessary to pour on this GEO, while considering some peculiarities. For example, players here are often 35+ years old, educated and can be adept at analyzing gambling strategies.
Germans love the adult market and tend to spend money during the pre-holiday sale season. They can afford a lot, but are reluctant to say goodbye to large sums of money.
Catching players is best done through Facebook in their spare time, which they often devote to sitting on their smartphones. Adapt your creatives to the users’ language, and collect conversions on the top gambling offers.