UK to crack down on unlicensed casinos sponsoring football teams | Gambling

Ministers are set to launch a crackdown on unlicensed casinos sponsoring British sports teams, amid criticism that the delay in bids has opened the door for offshore gambling firms to strike lucrative deals with Premier League clubs.

Progress on plans to kick unlicensed gambling operators out of football has stalled since February, when the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said the review would begin in the spring.

Well-placed sources told the Guardian the consultation would be launched this week.

But the landmark sponsorship deal signed during the delay proved the validity of the concerns raised by one of the UK’s largest licensed gambling firms.

Stella David, chief executive of Entain, which owns Ladbrokes, wrote to gambling minister Baroness Twycross at the beginning of June, urging the government to act quickly as sponsorship deals with unlicensed firms were “absolutely now concluded”.

Everton FC were proven right within a few weeks. Controversial crypto casino signs three-year sleeve sponsorship deal with Stake.comIt ignores guidance from the Gambling Commission urging clubs to think twice before resorting to such deals.

A senior industry source has called on lifelong Everton fan Andy Burnham, a critic of the gambling industry, to condemn the deal.

“Burnham became stridently anti-gambling when he became mayor of Manchester, but his own football club is taking money from an unregulated gambling company,” the source said.

“We are faced with the possibility of our Prime Minister wearing an Everton jersey and turning into a billboard for a crypto casino, which would be outrageous.

“He must condemn the Everton deal in the strongest possible terms.”

Stake effectively surrendered its license to operate in the UK last year amid a regulatory review of practices that included the brand being openly promoted by porn actor Bonnie Blue.

Days later, the Gambling Commission ordered sports teams to charge themselves and their managers. may be liable for prosecution If they are found to be promoting unlicensed gambling businesses transacting with UK consumers. Stake says it does not accept bets in the UK.

However, the law does not prevent unlicensed casinos such as Stake and other brands aimed mainly at football audiences in East Asia from sponsoring English clubs.

A government consultation scheduled to launch this week will seek expert advice on proposals to close this gap.

The long-awaited review comes a month after the Entain boss issued the warning to Twycross in a letter seen by the Guardian.

David said the delay “increases the real and immediate risk that football clubs will interpret the government’s lack of action as a green light to enter into new sponsorship deals for next season”.

“These deals are now definitely being finalized.”

He called on the government to warn the Premier League that member clubs’ sponsorship deals could be canceled mid-season if consultation results in a ban.

David also warned that some unlicensed casinos operate bets illegally in the UK, claiming they “profit from international criminal networks, deprive the Treasury of tax revenue and have a detrimental impact on the welfare of UK consumers, particularly the most vulnerable.”

Stake.com is one of the largest gambling companies in the world and there is no allegation that David ever mentioned the company or that the company committed any wrongdoing. The company did not respond to a request for comment.

Stake was at the center of much controversy before leaving the UK last year when its “white label” partner TGP Europe gave up its operating licence.

This comes after the Gambling Commission launched an investigation into why the Stake brand appeared in a video shot by Bonnie Blue.

In the video, Bonnie Blue boasted about a stunt in which she attempted to have sex with “underage 18-year-olds” during her early years at Nottingham Trent University.

Stake’s branding has also been featured in other viral videos on social media, some including violence and other graphic images.

Stake previously told the Guardian that it did not allow its logo and brand to be used by these creators.

The Guardian has previously exposed Australia-based Stake’s controversial practices, including a promotion in which it offered $10 “free” bets to anyone betting $5,000 a week.

This statement led to Everton telling the brand not to use club images as part of the promotion, despite the wider commercial partnership continuing.

A subsequent investigation by the Observer in 2022 revealed concerns about the ease with which British customers could bet with cryptocurrency on the site, despite cryptogambling being illegal in Britain.

At the time, the company said it was strictly adhering to anti-money laundering and safer gambling processes and had shut down customers in the UK who tried to gamble with cryptocurrency bypassing controls using virtual private networks (VPNs).

Stake has previously sponsored the front of Everton jerseys but 2026-27 will mark the beginning of a deal between the Premier League and the government under which clubs have voluntarily agreed to ban front-end deals with casinos and sports betting sites, including licensed operators.

The measure led to operators sponsoring jersey sleeves and training kits instead, while there were no changes to the rules allowing advertising on pitchside boards.

A government spokesman said: “It is wrong that unlicensed gambling operators are sponsoring some of our biggest football clubs, raising their profiles and potentially attracting fans to sites that do not meet our regulatory standards.

“We are therefore calling for unlicensed operators to be banned from sponsorship deals in British sport and our consultations on the issue will take place soon.”

Everton FC declined to comment. Andy Burnham did not respond to a request for comment.