Sports sponsorship and advertising
Sports organisations who engage in sponsoring and advertising arrangements with unlicensed gambling operators are at serious risk of committing the offence of advertising unlawful gambling under section 330 of the Gambling Act 2005 (opens in new tab) (the Act). Its officers may also be liable to prosecution in certain circumstances. If found guilty, they could face a fine, imprisonment or both. Therefore, sports organisations must diligently and continuously ensure that they are not advertising unlawful gambling.
Sports organisations engaging in such arrangements with an unlicensed brand, must ensure that online gambling activity for that unlicensed brand is blocked and inaccessible to consumers in Great Britain. However, it is important to be aware that Internet Protocol (IP) blocking technology can be circumvented, so ongoing monitoring of the arrangement is essential to ensure those arrangements are effective and that consumers based in Great Britain are not able to register and gamble on unlicensed websites. We would expect that the process of registration would identify those consumers with an address in Great Britain and prevent them from gambling. In such instances, the Commission will seek assurance from clubs that they have carried out due diligence on their gambling partners and that consumers in Great Britain cannot transact with the unlicensed websites. The Commission may also take steps to independently verify effective blocking measures are in place.
Sports organisations will need to continue to satisfy themselves that their sponsorship and associated advertising arrangements are legal and do not present a reputational risk to their sport. It is essential that any organisation contracting with brands that do not hold a Gambling Commission licence manage their exposure to risk. This includes satisfying themselves as to the source of the funds for the arrangement.
Risks to the integrity of sport can be greater where betting occurs in markets which are beyond the reach of the Commission and National Governing Bodies. Only gambling operators that hold operating licences issued by the Commission are subject to the controls that we have developed with sport’s governing bodies and the betting industry to combat corrupt sports betting.
The Commission is of the view that the best way for sports organisations to protect themselves against these risks is to ensure that they only promote gambling operators that hold operating licenses issued by the Commission.
You can check the licence status of gambling operators by viewing our register of gambling businesses.
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Last updated: 18 February 2025
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