The UK government has launched a consultation that could reshape the relationship between sport and offshore gambling brands. Lawmakers are considering a ban that would prevent unlicensed gambling operators from sponsoring British sports teams, including Premier League clubs.
The proposal is aimed at closing what officials see as a regulatory gap. Offshore brands have been able to secure visibility in Great Britain through sponsorship deals, even when they do not hold a license from the Gambling Commission. The government is not accusing clubs of breaking existing rules. Instead, it is questioning whether the sponsorship model itself creates consumer risk.
Focus shifts from enforcement to legislation
The consultation, expected to begin this spring, will examine whether new laws are needed to block sponsorship agreements between sports clubs and gambling companies that lack a UK license.
Under current rules, clubs are not automatically acting unlawfully if they partner with offshore operators, provided those sites are not accessible to consumers in Great Britain. That distinction has allowed some deals to proceed under geo-blocking arrangements.
Officials now appear less comfortable with that structure. Their position is that brand exposure in high-profile sport can still steer fans toward operators that fall outside UK safeguards, even if location-blocking restrictions are in place.
White-label arrangements draw scrutiny
The policy push follows a year of pressure on white-label structures. In early 2025, the Gambling Commission confirmed that Stake.uk.com would exit the GB market after regulatory action involving TGP Europe, which operated the site under a white-label agreement.
The Commission said at the time it would contact football clubs to highlight the risks of promoting unlicensed gambling websites and to reinforce expectations around due diligence and geo-blocking.
Matters escalated in May 2025 when TGP Europe surrendered its license after being told it would need to pay a £3.3 million penalty and implement significant compliance improvements to continue operating in Great Britain. The regulator later noted that several football clubs were left with sponsorship arrangements linked to unlicensed businesses and warned that club officers could face liability if unlawful promotion occurred.
Those developments shifted the issue from a technical compliance matter to a broader policy concern.
Beyond the Premier League shirt agreement
The consultation also lands in a market that is already changing. Premier League clubs agreed in 2023 to remove gambling sponsorship from the front of matchday shirts, with that collective decision taking effect at the end of the 2025/26 season.
That agreement, however, only addressed one advertising format. Other inventory remains available, including sleeve placements and pitchside branding. The government has made clear that unlicensed operators can still access visibility through those routes.
The consultation signals that ministers may now move beyond limiting where gambling logos appear to restricting who can sponsor in the first place.
Part of a wider illegal gambling strategy
The proposed sponsorship ban is not being framed as a stand-alone sports measure. It sits within a broader effort to disrupt the illegal gambling market.
Last month, the government announced the creation of an Illegal Gambling Taskforce bringing together major platforms, payment companies, law enforcement, and gambling bodies. Participants include Google, Mastercard, TikTok, and Visa. The focus is on cutting off illegal operator advertising, restricting payment flows, and strengthening coordination between agencies.
Viewed in that context, sponsorship is being treated as another acquisition channel. Club partnerships, shirt placements, and other forms of visibility are now part of the enforcement conversation alongside digital ads and payment processing.
Implications for clubs and operators
For clubs, the immediate impact is uncertainty rather than disruption. Existing deals are not automatically void, and no draft legislation has yet been published. The consultation period gives sports bodies and operators a chance to argue over definitions, scope, and transition timelines.
For offshore brands, the direction of travel is harder to ignore. Even if their platforms remain geo-blocked to GB consumers, the government is openly questioning whether brand exposure alone should be permitted without a UK license.
Licensed operators may see the proposal as a move toward fairer competition. UK license holders operate under strict compliance and consumer protection obligations. Ministers have signaled that allowing unlicensed brands comparable visibility undermines that balance.
No concrete answers yet but the debate rages on
The consultation does not yet impose a ban, but it moves the debate closer to legislation. The central question is no longer whether clubs can rely on geo-blocking to justify sponsorships. It is whether unlicensed operators should have access to British sport at all.
If the government proceeds, licensing status will become the defining threshold for sponsorship visibility, not simply a technical detail in the background.
