Everton, Leicester Slammed Over Stake.com, BC.Game Sponsorship

Posted on: March 24, 2025, 10:43h. 

Last updated on: March 24, 2025, 10:56h.

Philip Conneller @casinoorgphilc Read More
Expertise: Gaming Business, Regulation, Tribal Gaming.
  • The Coalition to End Gambling Ads (CEGA) claims EPL teams Everton and Leicester City promote unlicensed gambling via sponsorships
  • UKGC previously warned clubs about legal risks of unlicensed gambling promotions
  • Stake.com and BC.Game are allegedly accessible in the UK via VPN loopholes

An anti-gambling group has written to English Premier League teams Everton and Leicester accusing them of advertising unlicensed gambling firms.

Everton, Leicester, Stake.com, BC.Game, UKGC
The Stake.com logo remains emblazoned across Everton jerseys, above, despite the company quitting the UK under a cloud back in February. The team signed a club record deal with the controversial brand in November 2022. (Image: Shutterstock)

The Coalition to End Gambling Ads (CEGA) has also asked the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) to take action against the two teams because it claims Stake.com and BC.Game, jersey sponsors for Everton and Leicester, respectively, are easily accessible from the UK via a virtual private network (VPN).

Everton signed a club-record £10 million sponsorship deal with Stake.com in November 2022. To its international customers, Stake.com is largely an unregulated crypto-gambling site. However, until February this year, the brand offered licensed fiat currency gambling in the UK via the Isle of Man-based white-label operator TGP Europe.

The company agreed to give up its UK license in February after the UKGC objected to a social media ad featuring porn actress Bonnie Blue that targeted younger players.

Meanwhile, BC.Game, also a crypto platform operating as a TGP Europe white-label partner, agreed to pull out of the UK late last year after it was declared bankrupt in Curacao where its license was also revoked.

White-Label Controversy

The white-label system allows gambling companies to operate in the UK by proxy. White-label providers like TGP create a website bearing an operator’s brand, but the content and services within are operated and managed under the provider’s license.

The system has been criticized for fueling an influx of Asia-facing sportsbooks that want to use sponsorship of the English Premier League as a springboard to markets, such as China, where promoting gambling is illegal.

A video produced by CEGA and seen by The Athletic shows that CEGA employees were able to access Stake.com using a VPN before uploading an image of the notorious Bonnie Blue ad as an avatar. The employees were then able to gamble on the platform using cryptocurrency.

After an hour, Stake’s systems spotted an ID issue and restricted the account pending the submission of a new ID.

CEGA employees were also able to access the BC.Game platform with just a VPN and an email address, and weren’t required to submit any kind of ID.

‘Outright Fraudulent’

In a statement to The Athletic, Stake.com said it takes compliance and regulatory integrity “very seriously,” adding that CEGA’s efforts to bypass its controls were “deceptive … outright fraudulent and illegal.”

They knowingly used a VPN to bypass geographic restrictions. They intentionally falsified personal details, including name, address, and identity. They deliberately misled Stake by accepting T&Cs they were in clear violation of. They fraudulently created an account using fake credentials, engaging in identity fraud. They attempted to conduct an illegal transaction, despite being in violation of multiple safeguards,” the spokesperson said, adding that the system worked because “the fraudulent account was swiftly flagged and permanently closed.”

Neither Everton nor Leicester have responded to CEGA’s letter, although they have said previously they believe they are compliant with UKGC regulations.

In February, the UKGC warned that “club officers may 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.”