Four Premier League golf equipment have been warned by the Gambling Commission over their relationship with an unlicensed playing enterprise.
Bournemouth, Fulham, Newcastle, and Wolves, as effectively newly promoted Burnley, are all sponsored by betting web sites run by TGP Europe.
The firm surrendered its UK licence after an investigation discovered it had didn’t “carry out sufficient checks on business partners” and breached “anti-money laundering rules”.
A letter despatched to the golf equipment has warned they “may be liable to prosecution…if they promote unlicensed gambling businesses that transact with consumers in Great Britain”.
TGP Europe manufacturers bj88 (Bournemouth), SBOTOP (Fulham), DEBET (Wolves), and 96.com (Burnley) all at present seem as match day shirt sponsors.
FUN88 was Newcastle’s shirt sponsor from 2017 to 2023, earlier than changing into the membership’s “official Asian betting partner”.
Club officers have been warned they might be liable to prosecution and, if convicted, face imprisonment and/or a advantageous, in the event that they promote unlicensed companies that transact with British customers.
BBC Sport has approached the 5 golf equipment and TGP Europe for remark.
In February, the Gambling Commission contacted Everton, Nottingham Forest, and Leicester about three different TGP Europe web sites that had already misplaced their licence.
Stake (Everton), kaiyun (Nottingham Forest), and BC.GAME (Leicester) have all remained on the respective shirts since.
TGP Europe surrendered its licence after being instructed it wanted to pay a £3.3 million penalty and “make significant improvements” to proceed buying and selling.
The Gambling Commission says it’s searching for assurances “that consumers in Great Britain cannot transact with the unlicensed sites”.
“Clubs will be asked to demonstrate that they have assurance that any steps to geo-block the sites are effective, recognising that some blocking can be easily bypassed by use of tools such as a Virtual Private Network”, they added.
In a letter to golf equipment seen by BBC Sport, the Gambling Commission wrote: “You will want to continue to satisfy yourself that your sponsorship and associated advertising arrangements are legal and do not present a reputational risk to your sport.
“We would advise that any organisation partaking in sponsorship from manufacturers that don’t maintain a Commission licence handle their publicity to threat. This consists of satisfying themselves as to the supply of the funds for the association.”
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/ce9vnk2pky8o