GC accused of “empty threat” towards Everton following Stake’s UK exit

Everton FC may legally be in the clear even if they retain Stake as their front-of-shirt sponsor despite threats from the Gambling Commission, according to legal experts.

Yesterday, 12 February, the regulator announced that online gambling giant Stake was set to leave the UK market as it would “no longer be a licensed website from next month”.  

Isle of Man-registered TGP Europe, which operates Stake’s UK platform as part of a white-label agreement, will shut the site down by 11 March 2025, it was revealed.

This decision came after the GC investigated a social media video containing the Stake logo, which it said displayed inappropriate content that “featured an adult actress outside Nottingham Trent University”.

The regulator said it planned to write to Premier League side Everton, who signed a front-of-shirt deal with Stake in 2022 worth a reported £10m a season, “warning of the risks of promoting unlawful gambling websites”.  

In the statement, the regulator went on to warn club officials that they could be liable to prosecution and “if convicted, face a fine, imprisonment or both if they promote unlicensed gambling businesses that transact with consumers in Great Britain”. 

Speaking to EGR, David Zeffman, partner at CMS Law, argued that the way Britain’s gambling legislation was drafted means the GC might not have the authority to impose such sanctions.  

He said: “The problem is in part of the Commission’s own making as, when the Gambling Act came into force in 2007, it said, without any legal basis for doing so, that, one, gambling companies that wanted to advertise in Great Britain needed a licence from the Commission and, two, the Commission would not issue an ‘advertising-only’ licence.  

“With the booming popularity of the Premier League, many overseas gambling companies wished to sponsor Premier League teams – not to take bets from people in Great Britain but rather to advertise to consumers in their home territory. 

“However, because of the Commission’s position, and because the Premier League required gambling sponsors to hold a Commission licence, the only way gambling companies could sponsor teams was by offering bets to British consumers. In that way they could obtain a licence from the Commission even though they had no interest at all in British customers.    

“The legal position is that gambling companies anywhere in the world can advertise or sponsor in Great Britain provided that their website is not accessible by British consumers – this is why the Commission’s statement talks about making sure that any such companies’ sites must be effectively geo-blocked.”  

Zeffman added that any talk of prosecution for Everton’s club officers was an “empty threat” as the club have legally done nothing wrong. 

He added: “Now that Stake, whose headquarters is in Australia, no longer has a licence via TGP and therefore their site must not be made available in Great Britain, the most effective way for the Commission to ensure they have no access to the British market is by putting pressure on, in this case, Everton – whose shirts they sponsor – by warning them that they risk committing the offence of advertising “unlawful gambling”.   

“However, this is somewhat of an empty threat in that provided Everton have taken reasonable steps to satisfy themselves that Stake’s site is effectively blocked, it will not be committing an offence.” 

Elizabeth Dunn, partner at law firm Bird & Bird, suggested that the GC does have a right to review the behaviour of its licensees, including those operating under white-label deals.  

She said: “Whilst the Gambling Commission doesn’t have direct regulatory oversight of clubs entering into sponsorship deals with gambling operators, it does have broad powers to review the activities of its licensees, including those which provide the UK-facing gambling services on behalf of the sponsor brand under ‘white-label’ arrangements.  

“If it believes a licensee is in breach of its licence or is otherwise unsuitable to hold a licence, including as a result of the activities of any of its white-label partners, there are a range of sanctions available to it, including licence suspension or revocation.” 

Dunn added that further complications could arise for Everton and other clubs if TGP Europe was to have its own UK licence revoked. 

She added: “If the white-label arrangement is terminated or the white-label provider’s licence is suspended or revoked, it can be very difficult for any sponsorship deal to continue.  

“Any club in this position would need to take a very careful look at both the terms of its agreement with the sponsor, and the practical and technical measures that can be implemented, to determine whether the sponsorship can continue without the club being deemed to be advertising unlawful gambling.” 

When EGR approached the GC for a reaction to Zeffman’s remarks, a GC spokesperson reiterated the part of the regulator’s statement which read: “The Commission will be taking steps to independently verify effective measures are in place.”

The regulator said this includes football clubs demonstrating they have assurances that any steps to geo-block sites “are effective”.  

Following the announcement of the UK market departure, a Stake spokesperson said: “Stake has made a strategic decision in mutual agreement with TGP Europe to exit white-label agreements and focus on securing local licences through our in-house platform and operations, building upon our growth in key regulated markets such as our recent expansions into Italy and Brazil.”