Now that the football season has come to an end, the tradition of clubs teasing next season’s kits is in full swing. However, with the latest launches, you might notice a significant change in front-of-shirt sponsorship. Teams are finally moving away from acting as contentious hosts for legal and illegal casino brands, opting for a fresh look as they pivot away from gambling logos on the front of their shirts.
You’ve probably noticed over the years a swathe of random, restricted offshore casino brands sponsoring football teams. Names like Fun88, Rollbit, Stake.com, or BC.game. If you attempt to access any of these in the UK, such as Stake.com who have left the UK market, you will be served an access block. So, why do they bother?
These brands themselves were not breaking the law by advertising on football shirts. And they frequently comply with UK requirements to restrict access. They pay for the sponsorship purely because the Premier League is broadcast to billions of people globally. The sponsorship serves as a massive billboard for their offshore business, using the prestige of a Premier League club to gain trust in markets where UK gambling regulations have no power.
It is against UK law for these sites to accept UK players, as they are unlicensed here and therefore not regulated by the UK Gambling Commission.
Is the Premier League banning gambling sponsorships?
No, football clubs can still have gambling sponsors. They have, however, already agreed to stop putting betting and casino logos on the front of shirts now that this season (2025/26) as come to an end.
This does mean that they may continue as the main sleeve sponsor on adult-only tops (junior kits are not allowed any casino or betting logos). They also have official betting partners as sponsors who often feature around the stadium, on the pitch side advertising boards, match programs and their websites.
Is it illegal to bet with offshore betting brands?
No you are not breaking the law by betting offshore. However, you may be contributing to criminal activity if they accept your money, and certain banks might intervene and restrict your cards from depositing on these sites. If you access these sites through VPNs, for example, and attempt to bet with them, they are breaking UK law if they accept your registration. Your deposits and withdrawals are not protected by the systems that regulated casinos and betting sites have in place to ensure wagers are fair.
Several Premier League clubs have recently been warned by the Gambling Commission about their links to offshore gambling firms that had surrendered a British betting license after failing anti-money laundering and business partner checks. Consequently, the whole industry is under the microscope right now, and authorities are having deeper conversations around sponsorship from offshore gambling companies.
Which football clubs were sponsored by gambling brands?
Several legal betting brands were prominent sponsors of football clubs, but there is a big difference between those with UK licenses (regulated) and those the government is currently targeting (unlicensed/offshore). These companies have full UK Gambling Commission licenses; they pay UK taxes and follow strict rules on punter safety. The government is not trying to ban these from being sponsors, though they will still be moved off the front of shirts by the end of the season.
Bally’s entered the UK market and signed a major front-of-shirt deal with Nottingham Forest for the recent 2025/26 season. It’s a US casino giant but they’re acquiring players for their new slot site and sportsbook called Ballybet
Bet365 famously sponsors Stoke City and the stadium. They also have various global betting partnerships and will often sponsor TV ads on sports channels.
BetMGM is an American giant launched in the UK by LeoVegas. They are the Official Training Wear Partner for Tottenham Hotspur and have major betting partnerships with Newcastle United and Wolves.
Betway is the long-term front-of-shirt sponsor for West Ham United. They also have major partnerships with Arsenal and Manchester City.
Hollywoodbets, albeit a legal South African betting company, holds a valid UK license. They are the current front-of-shirt sponsor for Brentford.
QuinnBet is a fully licensed UK and Irish operator. They are the Principal Partner for Dundee United (via QuinnCasino) and hold official betting partnerships with Hibernian, Cardiff City, and Stockport County.
UK consultation on offshore betting firms
The UK government has announced a formal consultation to ban gambling firms that lack a UK license from sponsoring sports teams. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said, “It’s not right that unlicensed gambling operators can sponsor some of our biggest football clubs, raising their profile and potentially drawing fans towards sites that don’t meet our regulatory standards.”
In terms of offshore brands, this affects a number of top British teams including, but not limited to:
Stake.com currently sponsors Everton; however, its UK site (Stake.uk.com) was shut down following licensing investigations, though it remains a sleeve sponsor.
BC.Game sponsored Leicester City; it has faced some scrutiny regarding its licensing status because of the “grey” crypto casino category that it operates in.
Kaiyun Sports featured on Nottingham Forest kits but operates primarily for overseas markets.
BJ88 sponsored Bournemouth; it is among those noted for lacking a standard UK consumer license.
The Changing Face of Football Sponsorship
At the end of the day, football and betting go hand in hand for a large section of the fanbase, but the landscape is shifting toward a much more regulated future. The UK is becoming significantly stricter regarding how gambling companies are permitted to sponsor the “beautiful game,” primarily because the sport has such massive appeal to under-18s. While the move to shift logos away from the front of shirts is a major step in protecting younger viewers, the government’s gaze is now fixed firmly on the offshore market.
We are entering an era where sponsorship visibility is being systematically reduced; the days of seeing obscure, restricted logos on the pitch are likely coming to an end. While betting remains a core part of the matchday experience for many, we might finally be witnessing the end of the road for offshore brands in British football.
What is offshore betting?
In the eyes of UK law, the distinction between a “legal” and “illegal” betting site is binary: you either hold a UK Gambling Commission license, or you don’t. However, for the punter, the “offshore” world is actually a spectrum of risk, ranging from legitimate corporate giants to predatory blackmarket operations.
The Displaced Giants & Regulated Brands
The first tier of offshore betting involves reputable, multi-billion dollar companies that are household names in their own territories but lack a UK license. A prime example is a brand like FanDuel. In the United States, they are a gold standard of regulated sports betting, operating under strict state laws and paying significant local taxes.
However, because they haven’t sought a UKGC license, they are technically an offshore entity to a UK resident. Betting with them isn’t necessarily a risk to your data. They are a legitimate business but it is a logistical dead end and they are likely in legal hot water if they accept you anyway. Because they don’t pay UK license fees or contribute to the domestic tax base, they are legally required to geofence UK users. For the bettor, the “risk” here isn’t fraud, but rather the inevitability of having an account frozen or being unable to withdraw funds due to jurisdictional conflicts.
The Organic Offshore Grey Market
The second tier is somewhat unintentional but arguably a little more risky. This involves grey market sites and operators who may hold a lesser appreciated license in a jurisdiction like Curacao or Anjouna. They actively market themselves to players in unregulated countries where gambling is neither legal nor illegal yet.
The draw here is often the promise of “better prices” or higher stake limits that regulated UK bookmakers, bound by strict affordability checks and consumer protection laws, cannot match.
When a bettor uses a VPN or a mirror site to access these platforms, they are essentially stepping outside the protection of the law. While these sites might look professional, they do not answer to the UKGC. If a dispute arises over a winning bet or a withheld withdrawal, the bettor has zero legal recourse. You are trading your consumer rights for a slightly better price on a Sunday afternoon kickoff.
The Unregulated Offshore Casinos “Wild West”
At the far end of the scale lies the true black market. These are sites that operate with no license from any reputable regulator. They exist entirely to bypass the geo blocks. This is the most severe form of offshore betting because it isn’t just about avoiding taxes, it’s often about avoiding any form of oversight from any government regulator.
These platforms frequently lack basic security protocols, and there is no guarantee that the games aren’t rigged or that the site won’t simply vanish overnight with your deposits or underpaid winnings. In this corner of the web, the “offshore” label isn’t just a technicality; it is a warning that you are entering a space where the house doesn’t just have the edge it has total, unchecked control over your money and your data.
