Stake, the Australian online betting firm sponsoring Everton Football Club, is exiting Great Britain after an investigation by the Gambling Commission into a controversial advertisement featuring porn actress Bonnie Blue. The ad, which promoted Stake's services to young adults, prompted calls for action from campaigners. The Gambling Commission is also warning other Premier League clubs involved with unlicensed gambling sponsors about their responsibilities.
A front-of-shirt sponsor of Everton football club is giving up its license in Great Britain following an investigation into an advertisement featuring porn actress Bonnie Blue. The social media video, shot outside Nottingham Trent University, showed her stating she was there 'as promised' to 'sleep with 180 barely-legal 18 year olds', with Stake 's logo prominently displayed on the screen.
Campaigners had urged the culture secretary to take action over the advert for utilizing sexual content to promote gambling to young people. The Gambling Commission stated that it will correspond with Everton to caution it of its responsibilities to ensure that the unlicensed gambling websites promoted on shirts cannot be accessed from Great Britain. The regulator is also writing to Nottingham Forest, which has sponsorship from Kaiyun, and Leicester City which has a deal with BC.Game, as both sites are also unlicensed in Great Britain. Australian online betting firm Stake decided to exit Great Britain after the Gambling Commission commenced its investigation. The English Premier League attracts a vast global audience, and clubs frequently enter into sponsorship arrangements with firms that do not conduct business in the UK. Stake, whose logo appears on Everton football shirts, styles itself as the 'world's leading cryptocurrency casino and sportsbook'. It permits customers to wager on sports or virtual casino games, although GB users cannot utilize Bitcoin and other digital currencies. It is operated under license by a firm based in the Isle of Man, TGP Europe, employing a 'white label' agreement, frequently utilized by global gambling firms that aspire to commence operations in the UK without a substantial initial investment in infrastructure and development. The Gambling Commission stated that Stake's GB business will cease accepting new registrations and will shut down entirely on March 11th. Stake indicated in a statement that it has 'made a strategic decision in mutual agreement with TGP Europe to exit white-label agreements and focus on securing local licenses through our in-house platform and operations, building upon our growth in key regulated markets such as our recent expansions into Italy and Brazil.'The regulator will caution the clubs that their officials could face up to 51 weeks in prison and unlimited fines if found guilty of promoting 'unlawful gambling websites'. It seeks assurance from the clubs that they have 'conducted due diligence on their white label partners and that consumers in Great Britain cannot transact with the unlicensed sites,' it stated. That could involve the clubs mandating that the websites block UK users, including those employing a Virtual Private Network (VPN), which can enable users to access unlicensed websites by concealing their geographical location. It added that customers can contact a gambling operator through the operator's website if they still require to retrieve their funds after the firm has closed. In January, Bonnie Blue – whose real name is Tia Billinger – attempted to break the world record for sex with the largest number of men in 12 hours. She was not implicated in the Commission's investigation, and there is no suggestion of wrongdoing on her part. Everton, meanwhile, is set to end its main shirt sponsorship deal with Stake at the conclusion of the 2025-26 season, but will still display gambling advertisements elsewhere, such as on shirt sleeves and digital advert hoardings. It has been suggested that the number of betting advertisements during the opening weekend of the Premier League season almost tripled compared to the previous year.
Gambling Sponsorship Everton Stake Premier League Gambling Commission Unlicensed Gambling Advertising
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