English Football League (EFL) Championship club Bristol City is reportedly the subject of interest from business mogul and Kaizen Gaming founder George Daskalakis.
Sky News reported that Daskalakis, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Kaizen, which operates the well-known Betano brand, “is in talks to buy a large stake” in Bristol City.
The stake in Bristol City sought out by Daskalakis is reported to be a minority one. The Robins’ current owner is Steve Lansdown, Co-Founder of UK-based financial services giant Hargreaves Lansdown.
According to Sky, Daskalakis has been working with co-investor Sandford Loudon, a partner at the Oakvale Capital advisory firm. This company has been involved in deals regarding Chelsea, Leyton Orient, and the Liga Portugal.
The rumours come at an inflection point for British football and its relationship to gambling, with changes in the way clubs and operators can work with each other, as well as a new test for owners.
Could a gambling CEO become a stakeholder?
The Independent Football Regulator (IFR) took charge of English football governance in late 2025, created by the Football Governance Act passed earlier that year.
The bill originated under the Conservative government following the fan backlash against the attempted European Super League (ESL) breakaway in 2021.
One of the IFR’s responsibilities is enforcing an ownership test. Prospective owners or shareholders in English football clubs will be subject to this test from now on, to ensure competence and a source of wealth.
Incompetent ownership was seen to the highest degree at Bury FC, which resulted in the club being expelled from the EFL in 2019 following severe financial mismanagement.
Several other EFL clubs’ ownerships over the past decade have led to fan protests, points deductions, transfer embargos and boycotts.
Should Daskalakis take a stake of over 25% in Bristol City, he would be subject to the newly-established Owners, Directors and Senior Executives (ODSE) test, put in place at the end of last season.
With betting and gaming considered a high-risk business and the relationship between football and betting under pressure, a question mark could hang over whether a prominent co-founder and CEO in the betting industry could get involved in football ownership in 2026.
Figures in gambling, and those who have made their money from gambling, are no stranger to club ownership — Brighton and Hove Albion owner Tony Bloom being a prime example.
Another prominent case of a bookmaker being at the centre of a football club is bet365’s relationship with Stoke City.
The club undertook a significant structural change in August 2024, when John Coates, bet365’s co-CEO, moved to take outright ownership of Stoke following an official demerger implemented by bet365.
The goalposts may have shifted for prospective future football owners in this industry, however.
Betano a familiar name to UK football fandom
Daskalakis’ rumoured interest in Bristol City is a personal one, unrelated to Kaizen Gaming or Betano.
Needless to say, the idea of a betting company buying a stake in an English football club would not go down well with the IFR or the Football Association (FA), and that is not what is being discussed here.
Betano’s extensive visibility in English football could be a talking point during any negotiations, however, and could find itself under discussion at the IFR as it evaluates any hypothetical bid for a stake.
Betano has been a partner of Premier League side Aston Villa since 2023. With a ban on front-of-shirt gambling sponsorships effective in the Premier League from the start of next season on Friday, Betano has switched its logo from the front of Villa shirts to the sleeves.
The brand also struck a training kit deal with Tottenham Hotspur over the summer as operators adapted to the ban and pivot to other kinds of sponsorship deals.
Again, it’s important to hammer home that these reports are not of a betting company seeking to buy a stake in a club, but rather a high-profile figure at a betting company looking at making a personal investment in one.
Nonetheless, the timing of the reports coincide with ongoing conversations about betting regulation and the industry’s visibility in UK sports, as well as the spike in commercial interest in the Championship from bookmakers.
While Daskalakis is looking to make a personal investment here, his links to the gambling industry and the potential hurdles that may bring about surely have to be noted.
SBC News received this statement from Betano representatives: “This is unrelated to Kaizen Gaming and Betano and falls outside the company’s scope.
“We are not in a position to comment on potential personal activities of our CEO.”
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