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Entain has stepped up its campaign against unlicensed gambling sponsors, sending letters to 10 Premier League sides that continue to display deals with offshore betting brands.
The operator behind Ladbrokes Coral said it had identified clubs whose commercial partners do not hold a UK licence, and urged them to reconsider those arrangements. This latest move, which was first reported by SBC News lands just as the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) prepares to close its consultation on whether such sponsorships should remain allowed in Britain.
Among the clubs named are Fulham, Everton, Ipswich Town, Newcastle United, Chelsea, Aston Villa, Coventry City, Nottingham Forest, Tottenham Hotspur, and Crystal Palace. Their current partners include SBOTOP, Stake, 8XBet, FUN88, VSBet, and Chexx.bet.
This is the second time in just a couple of months that Entain will be pressing for an end to illegal gambling sponsorship. Earlier in July, at the start of the consultation, it called on clubs to the needful and warned that the problem had already grown too large to wait for legislation.
Everton’s partnership with Stake opposes PM stance, Entain claims
Entain singled out Everton in its latest campaign against unlicensed gambling sponsors, sharing with SBC News the letter it sent to the club’s chief executive, Angus Kinnear.
In that letter, Charles Kovats, Entain’s Group Deputy General Counsel, warned that Everton’s deal 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.”
The message went further, stressing that Everton’s choice of sponsor clashes with political backing the club has long enjoyed. Kovats wrote: “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.
Entain also raised concerns about Stake’s reliance on cryptocurrency and its history of operating in grey jurisdictions, describing the brand as a “lightning rod” for worries about money laundering and weak player protection.
The letter pointed to the streamer culture that has helped Stake grow rapidly, arguing that it targets younger audiences, the same group Everton’s “Everton in the Community” programme is meant to safeguard.
8XBet’s multi-partnership deals highlighted
Entain has also drawn attention to 8XBet’s growing presence in English football, noting that the Asia‑focused bookmaker now has sponsorship agreements with five Premier League clubs: Aston Villa, Chelsea, Coventry City, Ipswich Town and Newcastle United.
The company’s reach was confirmed in a test carried out by an Entain rep, who reported being able to open an account in less than five minutes while connected through a VPN in Vietnam. Using the alias “Andy Burnham,” the UK Prime Minister’s name, the account was set up to the point of depositing cryptocurrency.
Screenshots shared with SBC News showed how 8XBet directs users around standard app‑store channels by using TestFlight, while its app features images of well‑known football stars and current Premier League players.
Entain argued that this demonstrates how club sponsorship assets are being used by an operator that is not licensed in Great Britain. The company said this raises doubts about whether the supposed separation between “Asia‑only” sponsorships and UK consumers is effective in practice.
The concern, according to Entain, is that Premier League clubs are lending their trusted brands to a bookmaker that can still be accessed through simple workarounds.p
As the government’s consultation on gambling sponsorship nears its September 9 deadline, Entain urged PL clubs to reconsider its deal, warning that such agreements affect the market, with 9% of Britain’s £8.2bn online gaming marketplace currently being held by illegal operators.
