Entain Sends Strong Message To IFR Over Unlicensed Gambling Sponsors

The Independent Football Regulator (IFR) has been urged to intervene and stop Premier League clubs from accepting sponsorship deals with unlicensed gambling brands.

Having just concluded its second consultation on the licensing regime for clubs across all tiers of English football, the IFR has been told it needs to resolve the underlying issue.

Of the season’s top-flight clubs, Everton (Stake), Sunderland (W88), Fulham (SBOTOP), Bournemouth (BJ88), Burnley (96.com), and Wolverhampton Wanderers (DEBET) have deals in place with betting sites without a United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC) license. Also, 18 of the 20 Premier League clubs have come under scrutiny for advertising rogue operators on their LED boards this term.

Entain gets its point across

After being established as a result of the Football Governance Bill passed in July of last year, the IFR, a public body, was designed to meet three core objectives. Among these included ensuring financial soundness to “protect and promote the financial sustainability of regulated clubs” and “safeguarding the heritage of English football”.

Currently, the IFR has been inviting responses to its latest consultation over licensing, and this summer, it is set to lay out its final rules and guidance.

However, Entain, the global betting company that owns Ladbrokes and Coral, has been unequivocal in its message to the IFR, insisting further clarity is needed on gambling sponsorships.

In her message to the IFR, Entain CEO Stella David said:

“Premier League clubs are being sponsored by criminal gambling firms. The Independent Football Regulator can stop this tomorrow by simply acknowledging that unlicensed gambling companies targeting UK customers through English football are breaking the law — plain and simple.

“The regulator does not need any new powers, new legislation, or even a rule to make this happen. In fact, it has already drafted one. We are asking the regulator to define and apply it before the next season begins. The IFR was created to fix English football’s governance failures. This is one of them.”

Black market rearing its head again

The black market has come into sharp focus over the past few months, sparking plenty of discourse. Research carried out by Frontier Economics illustrated that over a million British bettors stake £4.3 billion a year at unlicensed sites, while other official studies showed an estimated 420,000 British schoolchildren are gambling on the black market through social media, Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), and crypto wallets.

Moreover, research commissioned by the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) underlined that unlicensed gambling operators will account for more than half of all UK sports sponsorship spend by October 2027. Meanwhile, David wrote to her counterpart at the Premier League, Richard Masters, in February, urging a review of the situation to help vulnerable bettors.

David, at the time, also proposed a meeting with Masters to discuss the matter. However, as of yet, that hasn’t taken place.

Other items on the agenda

Naturally, the black market and betting sponsorships remain a bone of contention. However, it seems that the IFR has other items on the agenda to work through.

Reports have emerged suggesting Kick It Out, football’s leading anti-discrimination, is calling on the IFR to make significant changes to its code of governance, including setting specific targets for clubs to employ minority ethnic staff and to annually report the diversity of their workforce.