The update focuses on regulatory oversight of gambling sponsorships in sports, specifically addressing unlicensed operators targeting UK customers through football club partnerships.
Low confidence — requires human review. While the update involves gambling regulation and licensing frameworks, it is primarily about sponsorship governance rather than direct online gambling operations or betting market regulation.
Topic
The update centers on Entain's call for the Independent Football Regulator to ban unlicensed gambling sponsorships in Premier League clubs, which directly addresses advertising regulation and sponsorship restrictions for gambling operators.
The update discusses unlicensed operators targeting UK customers and recommendations to treat reputational risks from commercial partnerships as governance responsibilities, linking to ESG and corporate governance frameworks.
2026-05-12 08:04:19·2@vixio.support
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Entain has called upon the Independent Football Regulator to stop clubs accepting gambling sponsorships from operators not licensed in the UK.
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TITLE: United Kingdom's Independent Football Regulator Called Upon to Ban Unlicensed Gambling Sponsorships in Premier League
BODY:
On Thursday, Entain, the owner of Ladbrokes and Coral, called upon the Independent Football Regulator (IFR) to halt Premier League clubs from accepting gambling sponsorships from operators without a UK licence. The call follows the closure of the IFR's Second Licensing Consultation on Tuesday, which sought responses on a new club licensing regime for the top five leagues of English football.
Entain CEO Stella David urged the IFR to act before the 2026-27 season begins in August. Currently, up to six Premier League clubs are sponsored by operators without any UK licence or presence. While some unlicensed operators sponsor UK teams through white label agreements with locally licensed companies, Entain argues that unlicensed gambling companies targeting UK customers through English football are breaking the law. Entain made four key recommendations to the IFR: confirming that unlicensed gambling sponsorship constitutes "serious criminal conduct" under the Football Governance Act 2025; adding board attestations to annual club declarations to verify significant commercial agreements with licensed operators; treating reputational risks from commercial partnerships as a standing governance responsibility under the Football Club Corporate Governance Code; and publishing general guidance clarifying due diligence obligations applicable to gambling partners.
Research commissioned by the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) estimates 1.5 million Britons stake approximately £4.3 billion annually with illegal operators. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport launched a consultation in February on banning unlicensed gambling sponsorship in Great Britain. Entain has also contacted Premier League CEO Richard Masters, calling for an immediate voluntary ban on unlicensed gambling sponsorship ahead of the 2026-27 season.
Entain calls for end to unlicensed betting sponsorship in UK football With six Premier League clubs currently sponsored by operators without a UK licence, Entain is calling for urgent action. Entain has called upon the Independent Football Regulator (IFR) to halt clubs from accepting gambling sponsorships from operators not licensed in the UK. Ladbrokes and Coral owner Entain issued a statement on Thursday in response to the IFR’s Second Licensing Consultation . The consultation closed on Tuesday after seeking responses on a new club licensing regime for the top five leagues of English football. Entain has requested that the IFR confirms its ban on clubs accepting income “connected to serious criminal conduct” covers unlicensed gambling sponsorship. Operators without a local UK licence can currently sponsor UK teams through white label agreements with locally licensed companies, but there are also up to six operators without any UK licence or presence sponsoring clubs in the Premier League. Entain’s Ladbrokes is the official betting partner of Premier League giants Liverpool , while its Coral brand is the UK partner of second-tier side Birmingham City . In her letter Entain CEO Stella David urged the IFR to act before the 2026-27 season gets under way in August. “Premier League clubs are being sponsored by criminal gambling firms,” David said. “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 new 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.” Entain’s four recommendations Beyond confirming that unlicensed gambling constitutes “serious criminal activity”, Entain made three further recommendations for the IFR. The operator further called for a board attestation to be added to the annual declaration to verify whether clubs hold significant commercial agreements with licensed operators in the UK. The mandatory annual declaration was included in the Football Governance Act 2025 , a bill that lead to the establishment of the IFR last year. It is intended to ensure ongoing compliance by clubs. Additionally, Entain is urging for the Football Club Corporate Governance Code, also part of the new law, to treat reputational risks from commercial partnerships as a standing governance responsibility. Finally, it urged for general guidance clarifying the due diligence and obligations applicable to gambling partners, to be published to all licensed clubs. Upcoming DCMS consultation on unlicensed sponsorships Research from Frontier Economics , commissioned by the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), estimates 1.5 million Britons stake approximately £4.3 billion a year with illegal operators. Further BGC-commissioned research by WARC projected that unlicensed gambling sponsorship could account for over half of all UK sports sponsorship spend by October 2027. In response, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport launched a consultation on banning unlicensed gambling sponsorship in Great Britain in February. However, Entain argues the IFR shouldn’t wait until the DCMS process has concluded to take action. Entain has also contacted Premier League CEO Richard Masters, calling for an immediate voluntary ban on unlicensed gambling sponsorship and advertising ahead of the 2026-27 season. Kyle Goldsmith Kyle has been with Clarion since December 2023, joining from the world of sports journalism, subsequently becoming a LatAm-facing senior reporter with iGB. Related content Marketing & affiliates KSA files reports against thousands of illegal gambling ads on Meta sites in April 07 May 2026 - News Finance Online momentum powers Lottomatica to steady Q1 growth despite low hold hampering betting segment 06 May 2026 - News Uncategorized PAGCOR limits player incentives by online gaming operators 11 May 2026 - News Select location iGB iGB - Brasil Continue Close Loading Back Close Select Option Search Available Options No Results Matching Options No Results Matching Sub Options No Results No Results Scroll Up