Major brands lose British gambling licences amid TGP Europe exit
Several football clubs now have sponsorship arrangements with unlicensed gambling businesses.
UK.- The British Gambling Commission has confirmed that the white-label gambling operator TGP Europe has pulled out of the British market after being ordered to pay a £3.3m penalty if it wanted to continue trading.
The operator, which ran sites for 15 brands, has surrendered its casino, gambling software, general betting standard: real event and general betting standard: virtual event licences after it was accused of breaching anti-money laundering rules and failing to carry out sufficient checks on business partners.
TGP’s white label business model involved operating gambling websites using the branding of other businesses. That include Stake UK, which pulled out of the UK market in February after being placed under supervision due to a promotional stunt featuring a porn star outside Nottingham Trent University.
The Gambling Commission website now shows the licences as surrendered and all 15 brands that appear on its website in the list of TGP Europe white-label partner domain names have posted notices advising that they are suspending UK operations.
The Gambling Commission has had white-label operations in its sight for some time. It said that an investigation into Isle of Man-registered TGP found that it failed to carry out effective due diligence on each entity involved in the ownership of the third party and on the source of funds for business arrangements. It also failed to sufficiently consider money laundering risks and to sufficiently consider any activity by a third-party that is illegal, in either GB or the territory in which it is conducted.
Anti-Money Laundering (AML) breaches included failing to effectively implement enhanced due diligence measures outlined in its own AML policy by not effectively scrutinising information received from a third party. It’s the second time, TGP Europe was found to have breached regulations. In 2023, the Gambling Commission fined TGP Europe £320,000 for breaches of AML and social responsibility rules.
Football sponsorship deals in question
Several of the gambling brands that operated in the British gambling market under TGP Europe have sponsorship deals with English football clubs. These include DEBET with Wolverhampton Wanderers FC, SBOTOP with Fulham FC, Sportsbetio.uk with Newcastle United, bj88 with AFC Bournemouth and 96.com with Burnley.
The Gambling Commision says it had written to the clubs warning of the risks of promoting unlicensed gambling websites and to seek assurance from the clubs that they have carried out due diligence on their white-label partners and that consumers in Great Britain cannot transact with the unlicensed sites.
The clubs have been asked to demonstrate that they have assurance that any steps to geo-block the brands gambling sites are effective, recognising that some blocking can be easily by-passed by use of tools such as a virtual private network (VPN).
It said: “Clubs will be expected to carry out sufficient due diligence to assure the Commission that consumers cannot transact with the sites from Great Britain by any means. The Commission will also be taking steps to independently verify effective measures are in place.
“The letter warns 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.”
Celton Manx, the owner of SBOTOP/SBOBET, had already announced the surrender of its Isle of Man lience.
John Pierce, Gambling Commission head of enforcement, said: “This case involves a gambling company that was unwilling or unable to meet the regulatory standards we expect from our licensees. It is right that they have now exited the British market.
“Following TGP’s exit, several online gambling operators can no longer lawfully offer gambling facilities to consumers located in Great Britain. These sites, previously operating under TGP’s licence, may not provide adequate protection against criminal activity or gambling-related harm and should not be available to GB consumers with immediate effect.”
He continued: “We have already been in contact with several football clubs today to highlight the impact of the withdrawal from the market by TGP and make clear that we will be carrying out checks without further notice to ensure these sites remain blocked. We will also conduct ongoing spot checks as necessary to ensure they are not accessible to consumers in Great Britain by any means. Should any of these sites be available to GB consumers, we will take appropriate action.
“It is essential that football clubs play their part in protecting fans and GB consumers who may be exposed to advertising of these sites through their sponsorship arrangements from harm or exploitation. All licensed operators with similar arrangements to TGP should take notice of the action taken in this case.
“We would like to warn consumers that sites operated by TGP are now unlicensed and may not provide protections against criminality or gambling related harm.”
The regulator said that when an operator leaves the British gambling market it expect an orderly closure of its website to consumers in Great Britain, which should include providing consumers with clear information on how to obtain their funds. If a customer has questions concerning their account they should contact the operator via its website.
