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English Premier League (EPL) club Wolverhampton Wanderers and recently relegated Leicester City are facing intense scrutiny after an investigation revealed their matchday gambling sponsors are still operating despite being unlicensed.Top Crypto Casino in Saudi Arabia – BitStarz Ranked #1

Gambling sites BC.Game and DEBET have lost their UK gambling licenses yet remain accessible to British users, according to the Coalition to End Gambling Ads (CEGA), which shared its findings with Sky News.  

BC.Game lost its license in December 2024, while DEBET lost its license on May 15.

The Gambling Commission has warned clubs that they could face severe penalties, including fines or jail time, for promoting unlicensed gambling services. Despite this, neither club has indicated it plans to end its sponsorships.

More than half of this season’s Premier League clubs have a gambling company as their sponsor.

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As part of the investigation, CEGA told Sky News it was able to place deposits on both without issue, despite not having proper licensing for UK customers.  

CEGA Director Will Prochaska said he alerted representatives from Leicester City on March 13 that BC.Game is still accepting UK customers.

“In fact, (BC.Game) was one of the easiest for me to gamble on — there were very few checks whatsoever,” Prochaska said via Sky News. “But Leicester don’t seem to have done anything about it, and it’s still on the front of their shirts.”

BC. Game, DEBET and Burnley FC sponsor 96.com were formerly licensed under TGP Europe, an Isle of Man-based company. However, TGP Europe opted to forfeit its license after being told it needed to pay over $4 million in fines for failing to “carry out sufficient checks on business partners and breaching anti-money laundering protocols.”

According to the Commission, this included failure to:

• Carry out effective due diligence on each entity involved in the ownership of the third party
• Carry out due diligence on the source of funds for business arrangements
• Sufficiently consider money laundering risks
• Sufficiently consider any activity by an illegal third party, in either Great Britain or the territory in which it is conducted.

At that time, the commission said it contacted representatives from AFC Bournemouth, Fulham FC, Newcastle United FC, Wolverhampton Wanderers FC, and Burnley FC to warn them about the risks of promoting unlicensed gambling businesses.

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Everton was also caught in the crosswinds when its front-of-shirt sponsor, Stake, ceased UK operations in March. This followed an investigation by the commission into a widely distributed social media video that displayed Stake’s logo. The video featured an adult actress outside Nottingham Trent University. 

In line with regular protocols, the commission issued a letter warning Everton about the risks associated with promoting unlicensed gambling sites. 

Everton first announced the sponsorship agreement with Stake in June 2022. At the time, reports estimated the deal at more than £10 million per season. Stake then took over as the club’s main shirt sponsor before the 2022-23 season. 

The record-breaking deal was met with some controversy among Everton supporters, who feared it would lead to children and other young fans being overly exposed to gambling advertisements. 

A petition by an Everton supporter calling on the club to drop the sponsorship received more than 20,000 signatures, but to no avail. 

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Additionally, the commission asked clubs to “carry out sufficient due diligence” to ensure that the sites were no longer accessible to consumers in Great Britain. This includes geo-blocking.

“This case involves a gambling company that was unwilling or unable to meet the regulatory standards we expect from our licensees,” John Pierce, Head of Enforcement at the Commission, said in a statement. “It is right that they have now exited the British market.”

He continued: “Following TGP’s exit, several online gambling operators can no longer lawfully offer gambling facilities to consumers located in Great Britain. These sites, previously operating under TGP’s license, may not provide adequate protection against criminal activity or gambling-related harm and should not be available to GB consumers with immediate effect.”

Pierce stressed that EPL clubs must protect consumers from unlicensed operators, and harmful or exploitative advertisements associated with gambling.  

“We would like to warn consumers that sites operated by TGP are now unlicensed and may not provide protections against criminality or gambling-related harm,” he said.