The UK government wants to stop unlicensed betting operators from sponsoring UK sports teams and events… and is prepared to change the law to make it happen.
Their Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has launched a consultation this week that will seek responses to the question: should offshore gambling firms be allowed to sponsor domestic sport if they don’t have a UK licence?
If the consultation plays out as expected, the law will be changed and the ban could be implemented as soon as August 2027.
Rationale for Change
The consultation, which was revealed on Wednesday, will run for eight weeks until mid-September.
As well as accepting responses to the main question posed, the DCMS will also be gathering evidence on how best it can implement any ban.
In addition to protecting punters from the potential harms of betting with unlicensed operators, the government also wants to tackle the risks associated with money laundering and other forms of fraud – black market firms often perform less-intensive checks on their new customers and their source of funds.
The ‘rationale for change’, as highlighted in the consultation document, identifies three key aims:
- ‘To protect consumers from unlicensed operators that may not offer adequate player protections or fraud recourse.’
- ‘To ensure the integrity of the domestic gambling market.’
- ‘To eliminate money-laundering vulnerabilities in sport due to connections between some unlicensed operators and organised crime.’
If the consultation goes as planned, it would become a criminal offence for a team or event to partner with an unlicensed betting site or app – with the senior figures involved in the decision potentially subject to a fine or even imprisonment.
“In recognition that football is the primary source of unlicensed gambling sponsorships and advertising, our preferred option is to implement this ban from a fixed date in August 2027, ahead of the 2027/28 football season,” the DCMS has commented.
“This should minimise commercial disruption and allow time to secure legitimate replacements.”
Closing the Door
The challenge of allowing unlicensed firms to sponsor British sports teams and events is that it encourages punters to explore betting’s black market.
Before, the rules enabled offshore operators to partner with UK sport if they could prove that their site/app is geo-blocked here.
However, decision-makers have realised that the increased usage and familiarity with VPNs means that the rules are no longer fit for purpose.
Many unlicensed firms have taken advantage of the loophole, with Stake.com’s controversial commercial agreement with Everton FC one of the most high-profile examples.
They renewed their partnership in June, despite the fact that Stake.com was effectively kicked out of the UK market last year following a string of risque social media posts featuring adult film stars and questionable content.
Matters had already been complicated when TGP Europe, the white label provider that had originally afforded Stake.com access to the UK market, surrendered their operating licence in May 2025.
More than half of Premier League clubs during the 2024/25 season were sponsored by an unlicensed betting firm that had piggybacked on TGP Europe’s white label licence – forcing them to find an alternative.
Elsewhere, operators like SportsBet.io and STBet, despite not being approved by the Gambling Commission, have been allowed to sponsor significant snooker tournaments and horse racing meetings respectively.
Front of Shirt Ban
Last season, eight of the 20 teams in the English Premier League had a front-of-shirt sponsor that wasn’t regulated in the UK – they leverage the global popularity of the competition to advertise to TV viewers in Asia, North America and beyond.
The Premier League has now instigated a ban on front-of-shirt sponsorship deals between its clubs and gambling firms, which kicks in as of August.
But they are still allowed to have their branding plastered across shirt sleeves and shorts, as well as on pitch-side hoardings, concourse marketing and at a club’s training ground.
The government has previously said it would look at banning unlicensed companies from sponsoring British sport, however they revealed earlier this year that the plan had been delayed.
That led Entain, the owner of Coral, Ladbrokes and BetMGM, to call on the Independent Football Regulator to ban such agreements, which they argued were costing regulated operators millions and driving customers to the black market.
The government has now finally taken action, albeit recognising the ‘negative financial impact on sports teams and clubs which currently have deals with unlicensed operators.’ They will, however, kick on with plans to prohibit such agreements as of 2027.