Newcastle United and Fulham warned by Gambling Commission
Newcastle United and Fulham are among five football clubs who have been warned by the Gambling Commission over sponsorship deals with unlicensed betting company TGP Europe.
TGP Europe, a white-label operator for more than 30 gambling websites including Fun88 and SBOTOP, has surrendered its UK licence after being fined £3.3m for breaching regulations.
The clubs affected, who also include Bournemouth, Wolves and Burnley, must take steps to ensure no UK consumers bet on the sites or chiefs could face fines, imprisonment or both.
“We have already been in contact with several football clubs today 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,” said the Gambling Commission’s head of enforcement John Pierce.
“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.”
Newcastle United have deals with two TGP Europe-operated sites, Fun88 and Sportsbet.io. Fun88 was Newcastle’s main shirt sponsor until 2023-24, when it was replaced by Saudi entity Sela, but remains an official club partner.
Fulham’s partnership is with SBOTOP, Bournemouth’s with BJ88, Wolves with DEBET and Burnley with 96.com.
Newcastle and Fulham sponsors fined £3.3m
TGP gave up its UK licence rather than pay the £3.3m fine, which was levied for breaching money-laundering rules and failing to carry out sufficient checks on business partners.
It followed an investigation by the Gambling Commission, which previously fined TGP in 2023 for “failures including not adequately considering and mitigating money laundering risks posed by business-to-business relationships, and having ineffective policies and procedures in relation to due diligence undertaken prior to white label agreements”.
Added Pierce: “This case involves a gambling company that was unwilling or unable to meet the regulatory standards we expect from our licensees. It is right that they have now exited the British market.
“Following TGP’s exit, several online gambling operators can no longer lawfully offer gambling facilities to consumers located in Great Britain.
“These sites, previously operating under TGP’s licence, may not provide adequate protection against criminal activity or gambling-related harm and should not be available to GB consumers with immediate effect.”