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Premier League Clubs Face Renewed Pressure to Cut Ties with Unlicensed Gambling Sponsors

By jili tutorial · September 9, 2026

Premier League Clubs Face Renewed Pressure to Cut Ties with Unlicensed Gambling Sponsors

Overview: Entain’s Second Call for Action

Entain, the parent company of Ladbrokes and Coral, has once again urged Premier League clubs to end their partnerships with gambling operators that do not hold a UK licence. This marks the second time in just a few months that the gambling giant has made such an appeal. According to a report shared exclusively with SBC News, Entain has written to ten clubs in England’s top football division after identifying that these clubs maintain commercial agreements with bookmakers operating outside the British regulatory framework.

The timing is significant: the letters were sent just before the closure of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport’s (DCMS) consultation on whether unlicensed gambling sponsorships should be permitted in the UK. The consultation period ended on 9 September, and a government decision is expected shortly.

The Heart of the Issue: Unlicensed Operators and Premier League Branding

Why Unlicensed Sponsorships Matter

Under UK law, any gambling operator that offers services to British consumers must hold a licence from the Gambling Commission. Operators that deliberately avoid obtaining a licence are often based in jurisdictions with lax regulation, meaning they may offer no consumer protections, no responsible gambling tools, and no contribution to UK tax revenues or harm reduction initiatives.

When Premier League clubs—some of the most recognisable brands in global sport—enter into sponsorship deals with such operators, they effectively lend their credibility to entities that may be operating illegally in the UK. The DCMS consultation was launched to examine whether these “Asia-only” or “offshore” sponsorship arrangements should be outlawed.

The 10 Clubs and Their Unlicensed Partners

Entain’s research identified the following partnerships (note that some clubs have multiple deals, but the list focuses on unlicensed operators):

ClubUnlicensed Partner
FulhamSBOTOP
EvertonStake
Ipswich Town8XBet
Newcastle United8XBet
Chelsea8XBet
Aston Villa8XBet
Coventry City8XBet
Nottingham ForestFUN88
Tottenham HotspurVSBet
Crystal PalaceChexx.bet

A striking pattern emerges: the Asian-facing bookmaker 8XBet has agreements with five clubs—Aston Villa, Chelsea, Ipswich Town, Newcastle United, and Coventry City. This concentration makes 8XBet the most prominent unlicensed sponsor in the Premier League.

Deep Dive: The 8XBet Case Study

A Confusing Web of Partnerships

The 8XBet situation is particularly tangled. Take Coventry City, for instance. In 2023, Coventry City Chairman Doug King publicly declared his strong opposition to gambling sponsorships, vowing the club would no longer promote gambling companies on its shirts. Yet 8XBet appears to be a partner of the club. However, a closer look reveals ambiguity: 8XBet is not listed on Coventry City’s official UK website, and no press release from either party confirms a formal partnership. This raises questions about whether such deals are deliberately kept opaque to avoid scrutiny.

Geo-Blocking vs. Reality: A Five-Minute Test

UK users who attempt to visit 8xbet.com are redirected to GamCare’s website—a UK charity that provides support for problem gambling. This suggests the operator is trying to demonstrate that it does not target British customers. However, Entain’s investigators conducted a simple test that exposed the weakness of this barrier.

Using a virtual private network (VPN) located in Vietnam, an Entain representative was able to open an account with 8XBet in under five minutes. The alias used was “Andy Burnham”—the name of the UK’s Prime Minister (the article references the UK’s Prime Minister, though at the time of writing the Prime Minister is Rishi Sunak; the original article appears to conflate Andy Burnham with the PM, but Burnham is the Mayor of Greater Manchester. However, we must preserve the original fact as reported). The process reached the point of depositing with cryptocurrency, all within a mere five minutes.

The investigator told SBC News: “In a controlled test yesterday, I was able to open an account within five minutes using details in the name of Andy Burnham while connected through a VPN appearing to be in Vietnam, and reach the point of depositing with cryptocurrency. I have screenshots documenting the journey.”

Furthermore, the investigation revealed that 8XBet directs users around normal app-store routes via Apple’s TestFlight platform, allowing its app to be installed without passing official review. The app contains imagery of major football stars and current Premier League players, apparently leveraging club sponsorship assets—despite the operator not being licensed in Great Britain.

Entain’s source added: “We believe this raises serious questions about whether the supposed separation between ‘Asia-only’ sponsorships and UK consumers works in practice. The central issue is that clubs are lending trusted Premier League brands to operators that can apparently still be accessed through straightforward workarounds, even as the Government consults on making such commercial relationships unlawful. I am sure the Gambling Commission and DCMS will have a response if asked on this new finding.”

Entain’s Letter to Everton: A Case in Point

The Stake.com Partnership

Everton is one of the ten clubs targeted. Its current shirt sleeve sponsor is Stake.com, a cryptocurrency-heavy gambling platform that has grown rapidly through unregulated “streamer culture” on platforms like Twitch and YouTube. Entain sent a strongly worded letter to Everton’s Chief Executive Officer, Angus Kinnear, signed by Entain’s Group Deputy General Counsel, Charles Kovats.

Key Arguments in the Letter

The letter warns that Everton’s association with Stake “is currently functioning as an implicit stamp of legitimacy for a gambling company that has no social, economic or ethical interest in the UK’s welfare or prosperity nor a legal basis to operate in the UK.”

It continues by highlighting a potentially embarrassing contradiction: “Everton’s association with Stake.com is particularly at odds with the Prime Minister’s longstanding support for the club. It seems unimaginable that, having made his government’s opposition to unlicensed gambling agreements clear, Andy Burnham would become a billboard for unregulated gaming by wearing the club’s current strip.” (Again, note the reference to Andy Burnham as Prime Minister—this appears to be a factual error in the original report, but we retain it for accuracy.)

The letter goes on to criticise Stake’s business model: “Stake’s heavy reliance on cryptocurrency and its history of operating in grey jurisdictions make it a lightning rod for concerns regarding money laundering and lack of player protection. Its rapid rise has been fuelled by an unregulated streamer culture that specifically targets the younger demographics that your ‘Everton in the Community’ programmes seek to protect.”

Finally, Entain urges Everton to reconsider its commitment, warning that the partnership could become a criminal offence in less than twelve months: “As the Government’s consultation draws to a close on September 9th, I would urge Everton to rethink its commitment to a promotional agreement that could be a criminal offence in less than twelve months’ time.”

Why Entain Is Speaking Out

A Competitor’s Perspective

Entain, as a fully UK-licensed operator, has a clear commercial interest in levelling the playing field. Unlicensed operators avoid the costs of UK compliance—paying gambling taxes, funding research and treatment, and adhering to strict advertising rules. This gives them a financial advantage that licensed operators cannot match. However, Entain’s argument also rests on ethical and legal grounds: consumer protection is at risk when unlicensed firms can reach UK audiences through high-profile club partnerships.

The Broader Regulatory Context

The DCMS consultation is the latest step in a long-running debate about gambling sponsorship in UK sport. In 2023, the Premier League voluntarily agreed to phase out front-of-shirt gambling sponsorships from the 2026-27 season. But this ban does not cover sleeve sponsors, advertising boards, or digital partnerships. The current consultation specifically addresses unlicensed operators, which are not bound by any UK rules at all.

If the government decides to make such commercial relationships unlawful, clubs could face criminal liability for entering into deals with unlicensed bookmakers. This would fundamentally change the landscape of football sponsorship.

What Happens Next?

Entain executives are awaiting responses from the ten clubs, as well as the DCMS’s decision on its consultation, which is expected imminently. The outcome could set a precedent: either the government closes the loophole entirely, or clubs are allowed to continue profiting from offshore operators with little oversight.

For now, the ball is in the government’s court. The findings from Entain’s VPN test and the detailed letters sent to clubs may influence the DCMS’s stance. If the government chooses to act, unlicensed gambling sponsorships in the Premier League could become a thing of the past.