Asian betting company W88 has become the new front-of-shirt sponsor of Sunderland AFC, who recently returned to the English Premier League.
Under a one-year white-label agreement, W88 replaces UK-based bookmaker Spreadex, whose logo had appeared on the first team’s kit since 2022. Additionally, W88 becomes the club’s official Asian betting partner.
W88 previously operated in the UK through Midnight Gaming, but in the summer of 2024, the company voluntarily surrendered its license to the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC). It is now primarily active in Asia and parts of Latin America.
However, this partnership could pose challenges for Sunderland. Previously, Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace received warnings from the UKGC over their partnerships with Kaiyun Sports, a betting platform not licensed in the UK.
According to regulations: “Where a gambling-related agreement provides consumers in the UK with facilities for gambling, competitions and clubs should only enter into agreements where the gambling company is licensed by the Gambling Commission or captured as part of a white label partnership.”
W88, however, already has a Premier League presence – in June 2023, it became Burnley’s front-of-shirt sponsor for the 2023/24 season — no sanctions followed, despite W88’s headquarters being located in the Philippines.
A W88 spokesperson commented: “It’s an incredible honour for all of us at W88 to be partnering with Sunderland AFC, a club with such a storied history throughout the last 150 years. Following an incredible return to the Premier League, we see SAFC as the perfect partner to activate within our overseas target markets, and we can’t wait to be collaborating with them ahead of what promises to be another exciting season on Wearside.”
Sunderland’s promotion to the Premier League means that the agreement with W88 will be limited to a single season. From the summer of 2026, a ban on front-of-shirt betting sponsors, agreed by Premier League clubs in 2024, will come into effect. The ban aims to protect player welfare and will specifically prohibit gambling company logos on playing kits.
At the same time, the deal with W88 is reported to be the largest commercial agreement in Sunderland’s history, enabling the club to maximize revenue before they are required to seek a new sponsor.
Sunderland’s Chief Commercial Officer, Ashley Peden, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with W88, who possess a proven track record of establishing successful partnerships with elite sporting organisations, including Premier League football clubs. The agreement represents the largest commercial deal in the club’s history, and it will contribute significantly towards enabling the club to compete in the Premier League.”
Such white-label agreements with Asian-facing bookmakers are coming under increased scrutiny in the UK due to lack of transparency and connections to offshore unlicensed gambling markets.
The aforementioned Kaiyun Sports previously operated under a white-label license via TGP Europe, a company registered in the Isle of Man. That license expired in 2024, prompting the UKGC’s warning to Crystal Palace.
The exit of TGP Europe from the UK market is expected to significantly affect several clubs that relied on this model, including Fulham, Wolverhampton Wanderers, and Bournemouth.
TGP Europe remains at the center of ongoing investigations. The UKGC recently issued a £3.3 million fine against the company for failures in due diligence and anti-money laundering (AML) procedures.
Sponsorships from Asian betting firms have also raised concerns from the Global Lottery Monitoring System (GLMS). In a 2020 statement, the GLMS warned: “The huge Asian betting markets facilitate illegal betting, match-fixing and corrupting sport – this clearly leaves sports and teams who profess to cherish sports integrity open to accusations of hypocrisy. Asian-facing betting operators leverage their association with respected sports teams to legitimise their products and target customers in Asia, where both European football and betting are hugely popular.
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