New site allows users to bet on delayed Deutsche Bahn trains

BahnBet allows users to bet on real Deutsche Bahn trains with fictional money. The site launched in early March and was visited over 150.000 times within its first 24 hours online.

Vienna artist launches BahnBet

This is the world we are living in: Polymarket users are betting on whether the Iranian regime will fall by June 30, and BahnBet users are betting on whether the ICE1134 from Munich to Essen will arrive on time. It’s currently 22 minutes behind schedule.

Created by Vienna-based artist Caio van Caarven, the satirical BahnBet project, also known as DBSM, uses live Deutsche Bahn travel updates and allows users to bet fictional “Caßh” on whether trains will be delayed.

At the end of the month, train timetable techies with the best performance can win vouchers or merch from the DBSM online shop. Van Caarven also sells merch to fund server costs.

Deutsche Bahn’s punctuality rates have been declining for several years and hit a record low of 51,5 percent of trains on time in October 2025. In January 2026, just 52,1 percent of intercity Deutsche Bahn trains were on time. The national rail company is aiming for 70 percent punctuality by 2029.

DBSM just the latest of van Caarven’s stunts

DBSM is just the latest stunt from the Brazilian-Austrian artist. Previous projects include a COVID cooking show spoken in three languages simultaneously, the “Desperate German” Instagram series and a “fake lawsuit against Nestle that fooled the internet for seven days”.

According to a report from Chip, van Caarven is yet to be contacted by Deutsche Bahn.