The UK Government is planning to show a red card to unlicensed gambling sponsorships of British sports teams.
Prohibition would encompass sponsorships in the Premier League, where clubs are viewed as one of the most valuable global assets.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has stated that it is ‘not right’ that gambling companies not licensed in the UK can ‘raise their profile and potentially draw fans towards sites that don’t meet our regulatory standards’, through their association with Premier League clubs.
As a result, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is gearing up to begin a consultation on sports sponsorship in Spring as a way to mitigate the risks associated with the illegal market and eliminate ‘unfair competition’ for regulated operators.
UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) rules state that sports teams can maintain partnerships with entities not licensed in the UK, but must ensure that customers in the UK cannot access the platforms.
Premier League sides such as Fulham (SBOTOP), Bournemouth (bj88), Wolves (DEBET) and Burnley (96.com) have maintained links to unlicensed gambling companies, which DCMS claims often lack measures to protect consumers and fail to adhere to responsible advertising standards.
In the case of SBOTOP and DEBET, the operators accessed the UK through a white-label agreement with TGP Europe. However, TGP exited the UK after the UKGC issued the firm a £3.3m penalty for due diligence and AML failures.
Nandy emphasised: “When placing a bet on the big match, fans deserve to know the sites they’re using are properly regulated, with the right protections in place.”
Going beyond the Premier League ban
From the beginning of the next season, Premier League teams will be banned from agreeing front-of-shirt sponsorships from the gambling industry, following a league-wide decision made in 2023.
However, no such rules are currently in place from the league regarding gambling’s placement on shirt sleeves, training wear, or the advertising hoardings that surround pitches.
These latest reports demonstrate that the UK Government is seeking to close this loophole when it comes to the unlicensed sector and get tough on such operators using the Premier League, and the wider English sports ecosystem, as a vehicle to court domestic and international visibility.
Although sponsorship agreements with the unlicensed sector are most common in the Premier League, current Championship side Leicester City maintains BC.Game as its principal partners despite backlash from fans, and Birmingham City recently announced Duelbits as its Asian betting partner.
Both of these deals would no longer be permitted if DCMS were to push through new legislation.
The consultation also sits alongside the recent formation of an illegal gambling task force, which is seeking to bring together banking and social media firms with law enforcement to tackle the black market by reducing illegal operators’ advertising on social media and preventing payments to unlicensed sites.
Gambling Minister Baroness Twycross added: “We know the real harm that unregulated gambling can cause, exploiting vulnerable people and leaving consumers without the protections they deserve.
“This consultation, alongside the work of our Illegal Gambling Taskforce, shows how seriously this government is taking the issue. We will not hesitate to act where we see people being put at risk.”
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