Entain CEO urges end to “Premiere League’s complicity” in illegal gambling
Stella David has branded this week’s Bournemouth Vs Sunderland match as a “black market derby”.
UK. Stella David, the Chief Executive of Ladbrokes and Coral owner Entain, is the latest figure to join the debate over a possible ban on unlicensed gambling sponsorship in British sport. She’s urged the Premier League not to wait for a mandatory ban but instead take immediate action against clubs promoting unlicensed gambling operators.
In a letter addressed to Premier League Chief Executive Richard Masters, David pressed for an outright ban on sponsorship and advertising deals with operators who don’t have licences from the British Gambling Commission. She warned that English football’s top division must not serve as “a shop window for the black market” arguing that visibility for unlicensed operators on shirts, sleeves and pitchside boards exposes fans to unnecessary risks.
“It cannot be right that clubs competing in the world’s most watched football league are promoting gambling brands that do not hold a UK licence. These operators do not contribute to British sport, they do not pay UK gambling duties, and they do not uphold the standards of player protection that our regulated market is built upon,” she wrote.
David’s intervention seems timed to build on the momentum of the announcement from UK government’s Department of Culture, Media and Sport this week that it intends to consult on plans for formerly ban sports sponsorship by operators that lack Gambling Commission licences.
Such deals have been very lucrative for British football clubs, with many in the Premier League and English Football League sporting the logos of Asia-facing operators in particular. Ostensibly, operators’ intentions have been to gain visibility in their target markets through TV and other exposure, but lawmakers are concerned that British clubs are effectively promoting unlicensed gambling at home.
Research by Yield Sec shows that black market operators have grown their share of the UK online market from 2 per cent in 2022 to 9 per cent in 2025. David also cited Betting and Gaming Council figures estimating that UK consumers wager £2.7bn annually with unregulated platforms.
“On Saturday 28 February, Bournemouth host Sunderland in what can only be described as a ‘black market derby’, with both teams sporting gambling sponsors on their shirts that do not hold UK licences. It exemplifies the rise of black market gambling in the UK, the Premier League’s complicity in it, and the very real harms at stake.”
The Premier League has already agreed to a voluntary ban on all front-of-shirt gambling sponsorship from the end of the current season. But with the prospect of a mandatory ban on all unlicensed gambling sponsorship now looking likely, David aims to spur the Premier League into acting earlier than any formal ban would come into play.
She welcomed Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy’s pledge to review gambling advertising and the government’s consultation on banning unlicensed operators but cautioned against waiting for lengthy processes.
“We welcome the government’s commitment to review this area, and Lisa Nandy has been clear that protecting consumers is a priority. But while a consultation runs its course, clubs are ordering next season’s kits and commercial deals are being signed. The Premier League does not need to wait – it can act now.”
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is expected to launch a consultation this spring. Entain has not engaged in football sponsorship since the 2019/20 season, when it terminated Ladbrokes’ headline sponsorship of the Scottish Professional Football League. Coral also ended its sponsorship of the Coral Cup at Cheltenham after more than five decades.
The company, along with other UK-listed operators such as Flutter Entertainment and Evoke, has pledged stricter marketing conduct in recent years. That move now has an economic imperative as the major operators aim to absorb the upcoming rise in British gambling tax announced in Rachel Reeves’ Autumn Budget.
David closed her appeal with a direct challenge: “This is a question of leadership. The regulated sector stands ready to support sport in a responsible way. The Premier League must now decide what side it is on.”
