Anti-Money Laundering Failings
White label gambling operator, TGP Europe, forfeited its UK licence after being hit with a £3.3 million penalty by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC), throwing several high-profile Premier League sponsorship deals into uncertainty.
The UKGC found serious failings in the company’s compliance with anti-money laundering and due diligence obligations, prompting the operator to exit the UK market entirely.
TGP Europe, which had sponsorship deals with multiple English football clubs, including AFC Bournemouth, Fulham, Newcastle United, Wolverhampton Wanderers, and Burnley, operated 29 gambling websites under its UK licence. Some of the brands included under the licence were Duelbits.co.uk, Betvision.com, Leyubet.co.uk, Fun88.co.uk, and Oubao.co.uk.
The company's exit follows an investigation by the UKGC, which found that TGP Europe had failed to carry out sufficient checks on third-party businesses with which they partnered. The regulator concluded that TGP did not adequately examine the ownership structure of their partners or the sources of the funds used in its business relationships. On top of that, the commission said that TGP had not properly assessed the risk of money laundering or considered whether activities from their third-party businesses were illegal.
In response to these serious breaches, the UKGC levied a £3.3 million fine and called for “significant improvements” to TGP’s business operations. These were required for the company to continue legally operating in the UK. TGP Europe surrendered its licence rather than pay the fine or implement changes.
Football Club Reactions
Off the back of this, several English football teams are now under scrutiny for continuing partnerships that potentially involved promoting unlicensed gambling platforms. The UKGC said that it has contacted these clubs to inform them of the regulatory risk they now face.
John Pierce, Head of Enforcement at the UKGC, warned that multiple online gambling operators under the TGP umbrella can no longer offer their services to the UK. He added that their platforms may lack safeguards against criminal activity and gambling harm, which should render them inaccessible to the British public.
This is not TGP Europe’s first regulatory breach. In 2023, the company was fined £316,250 and issued an official warning for similar failings in anti-money laundering procedures and social responsibility.
White Label Sponsorships
The case will likely further fuel the debate over the role of white-label sponsorships of UK football clubs. Under the current rules, gambling companies not licensed in the UK can sponsor UK clubs if their white label operation is carried out by a company licensed in the country. This model has come under increasing scrutiny from the UKGC and the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.
A member of this department, Baroness Twycross, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Gambling, confirmed last December that a formal investigation into white label sponsorship is underway. She suggested that the government would take further action if required. Regulatory pressure against football clubs and white label sponsorship continues to grow.
