An investigation launched by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has found more than 500 violations of gambling self-exclusion rules in Entain’s...
Entain urges IFR to prohibit illegal gambling sponsorships
The CEO of Entain, Stella David, has called on the Independent Football Regulator (IFR) to put an end to football gambling sponsorships from unlicensed operators.
Entain’s urges came after the IFR published its Second Licensing Consultation, which establishes new licensing regimes for the top five leagues of football in the UK. Moreover, the operator stressed that there are currently six unlicensed operators that sponsor Premier League clubs in the country.
David stated:
“Premier League clubs are being sponsored by criminal gambling firms. The Independent Football Regulator can stop this tomorrow by simply acknowledging that unlicensed gambling companies targeting UK customers through English football are breaking the law – plain and simple. The regulator does not need any new powers, new legislation, or even a new rule to make this happen. In fact, it has already drafted one. We are asking the regulator to define and apply it before the next season begins. The IFR was created to fix English football’s governance failures. This is one of them.”
Entain has also suggested that an attestation to the annual declaration should be added to make sure that football clubs have sponsorship agreements only with operators licensed in the UK, while reputational risks from commercial collaborations should be treated as governance responsibilities.
At the moment, Entain’s Ladbrokes brand is Liverpool’s official betting partner, and the Coral brand is the partner of Birmingham City.
Entain has ended the Q1 2026 period with a 3% year-on-year increase in net gaming revenue (NGR), while online NGR was up 5%.The group stated that the NGR growth aligned...
