Unlicensed gambling firms could be barred from sponsoring Premier League clubs

Unlicensed gambling firms could be barred from sponsoring Premier League clubs Top clubs agree not to have gambling sponsors on front of shirts, but government is consulting on total ban Unlicensed gambling firms could be barred from sponsoring Premier League football clubs, after a string of controversies involving pornographic videos, failures in anti-money laundering rules and concerns about links to organised crime. Shirts worn by players for several major English football teams, including Everton, Fulham and Wolverhampton Wanderers, feature the logos of unlicensed online casinos or bookmakers. Premier League clubs have pledged to end all front-of-shirt gambling deals from the end of this season, including those with large operators with a licence. But the voluntary measure will not apply to shirt sleeves or other commercial tie-ups. This leaves the door open to gambling firms who do not hold a British licence to continue hitching themselves to the popularity of the Premier League, as long as they promise not to offer their services to UK consumers. The government said on Monday that it was consulting on a total ban on unlicensed operators, a measure considered but never introduced by the previous government. Ministers cited concerns that some operate under lax regulatory standards that leave vulnerable gamblers unprotected and warned that some unlicensed operators have been linked to organised crime. Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary, said: “It’s not right that unlicensed gambling operators can sponsor some of our biggest football clubs, raising their profile and potentially drawing fans towards sites that don’t meet our regulatory standards.” Everton’s deal with Stake.com, reportedly worth £10m a year, is perhaps the most controversial deal between a Premier League club and an unlicensed operator. Stake came under scrutiny in 2022, while it still held a British licence, after the Guardian revealed the ease with which punters could use cryptocurrency to bet on ...