Under current UK legislation, football clubs are able to enter into advertising and sponsorship arrangements with gambling operators which are not licensed by the UK Gambling Commission, so long as those operators’ services cannot be accessed by consumers in Great Britain. 

Unlicensed operators prevent access to their services by geo-blocking their websites. However, this can be circumvented by consumers using a virtual private network (VPN). This has become a particular issue over the past year in the sporting sector, particularly football, as the result of changes in the advertising landscape.

The UK government want to change this. The current legislation undermines the gambling licensing and advertising regulatory frameworks, which aim to protect consumers in Great Britain and reduce the risk of money-laundering and crime. 

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport have this week announced a consultation to ban unlicensed gambling operators sponsoring British sports teams. This will form part of the government’s consultation on sports sponsorship, to be launched in the spring.