Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
The UK government has launched a consultation on its plans to stop British sports organizations from signing sponsorship and advertising deals with gambling companies that are not licensed by the Gambling Commission. Ministers say the move will close a loophole that has allowed foreign betting brands to maintain a high-profile presence in English sport despite not being able to legally serve customers in Britain.
The eight-week consultation, published by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on July 15, would make it an offense for clubs, leagues, venues and other organizations to enter into sponsorship or advertising agreements with unlicensed gambling operators. While the proposal applies across all sports, football is expected to feel the biggest impact due to its long-standing reliance on betting partnerships.
The proposed rules would cover jersey sponsorships, LED billboards, stadium branding, event programs and naming rights. Ministers say the current framework allows overseas operators to provide visibility through geo-blocked websites, although these restrictions can be circumvented using virtual private networks.
The consultation follows the company surrendering its license to the Gambling Commission amid an anti-money laundering investigation. The government said the episode exposed weaknesses in existing legislation after several football clubs were left with sponsorship deals linked to brands no longer licensed in Britain.
Officials want the ban to be introduced before the 2027/28 football season, although they are also seeking views on allowing existing agreements to continue until August 2028. The government estimates that around 40% of Premier League clubs had sponsorship or advertising deals with unlicensed operators during the 2025/26 campaign.
The proposals build on plans first outlined earlier this year when ministers signaled they intended to tighten sponsorship rules as part of a crackdown on illegal gambling. They also come as Premier League clubs voluntarily ended gambling sponsorship of front shirts from the 2026/27 season, although betting brands will still be allowed on sleeves, pitchside advertising and other commercial assets.
Research by Investigate Europe points to how deeply embedded betting companies are in football. Its research found that 296 of the 442 clubs in the top 31 leagues in the European Union and the United Kingdom had at least one gambling partnership in the 2024/25 season, while every Premier League club had some form of betting partner.
Entain welcomed the consultation and urged football authorities not to wait for legislation before ending their dealings with unlicensed operators.
The Betting and Gaming Council, as well as Stella David, chief executive of Entain, welcomed the consultation, describing it as an important step in tackling illegal gambling. It claims that unlicensed operators often have links to organized crime, avoid UK tax and are not required to provide the consumer protections imposed on licensed firms.
David said in a statement: « We welcome the launch of this consultation, which was expected earlier this year and represents another important step forward in tackling illegal gambling. »
She said the government had correctly identified the risks created by sponsorship deals with unlicensed operators, adding that clubs and governing bodies should not wait for legislation before acting.
« Given this principle is now established, we believe that clubs, leagues and governing bodies should act immediately and voluntarily end their dealings with unlicensed operators, rather than waiting for legislation to force them to do so, » David said.
David also urged regulators to follow the Financial Conduct Authority’s approach to unregulated crypto firms, warning that sponsorship agreements with unlicensed gambling operators could quickly lose their value.
Entain said research by H2 Gambling Capital estimated that the illegal gambling market had grown from £5 billion in gross gambling profits in 2019 to £16.6 billion in 2025, with further expansion expected. The company also cited analysis by the Betting and Gambling Council which suggested that unregulated operators could account for almost half of UK gambling advertising spend in the 2026/27 season.
The company argued that enforcement should extend beyond football sponsorship to the wider online ecosystem, including search engines, social media platforms, affiliate networks and payment providers that help illegal operators reach consumers.
David said consultation should be part of a wider strategy, not the only response to the problem.
« Today’s consultation represents a significant step forward, » she said, but warned that « sponsorship restrictions should not become a substitute for tackling the wider digital ecosystem that allows illegal gambling operators to expand their presence in the UK. »
Entain said it had also written to Premier League chief executive Richard Masters urging the league to ban sponsorship and advertising by unlicensed gambling operators, starting with LED perimeter advertising before the 2026/27 season.
The company has also contacted the chairman of the independent football regulator David Cogan OBE to propose management measures aimed at preventing unlicensed gambling companies from using English football to promote their brands.
Featured Image: Canva
Gambling,gambling ads,gambling legislation,United Kingdom
#consultations #focus #unlicensed #sports #gambling #sponsorships
