'Prosecution' warning as Wolverhampton Wanderers' betting firm shirt sponsor leaves British market
Wolverhampton Wanderers FC is among five English Premier League football clubs warned about the risks of promoting unlicensed betting websites by the Gambling Commission.
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Wolves, along with Bournemouth, Burnley, Fulham, Newcastle, have been contacted by the Government agency after regulatory action resulted in a white label gambling operator, TGP Europe, leaving the British market.
The company's businesses that are affected are DEBET (Wolves), BJ88 (Bournemouth), SBOTOP (Fulham), Sportsbet.io and FUN88 (Newcastle), and 96.com (Burnley).
TGP’s exit means the clubs now have sponsorship arrangements with unlicensed businesses.
The gambling operator ran a number of websites including DEBET (de-bet.co.uk) which the main shirt sponsor for Wolves.
It's not yet clear what impact the situation will have on the affected football clubs, Wolves has yet to comment, but the Gambling Commission has said it is seeking assurances from the clubs that they have carried out due diligence on their white label partners and that consumers in Great Britain cannot transact with the unlicensed sites.
This will include ensuring they have assurances that steps have been taken to put in place effective geo-blocking of the sites from the UK. The Commission said it would also take steps to independently verify effective measures are in place.
Club officials have been warned they could be liable to prosecution, and if convicted, face imprisonment and/or a fine, if they promote unlicensed businesses that transact with British consumers.
The Commission’s head of enforcement John Pierce said: “We have already been in contact with several football clubs to highlight the impact of the withdrawal from the market by TGP and make clear that we will be carrying out checks – without further notice – to ensure these sites remain blocked.
“We will also conduct ongoing spot checks as necessary to ensure they are not accessible to consumers in Great Britain by any means. Should any of these sites be available to GB consumers, we will take appropriate action.
“It is essential that football clubs play their part in protecting fans and GB consumers who may be exposed to advertising of these sites through their sponsorship arrangements from harm or exploitation. All licensed operators with similar arrangements to TGP should take notice of the action taken in this case.”
Wolverhampton Wanderers have been contacted for comment.
In 2023 Premier League clubs collectively agreed to withdraw all gambling sponsors from the front of matchday shirts from the 2026-27 season.
