Spurs cut ties with 1xBet

It has been confirmed that Tottenham Hotspur have ended their partnership with Russian betting firm, 1xBet, following the news that that had lost their British license.  

1xBet were forced to block access to their website in the UK amid numerous accusations of regulation breaches, including taking bets on children’s sports and advertising on illegal websites. 

Despite having been sponsored by 1xBet in the past, it has now been reported that Spurs have ceased all dealings with the Russian firm.  

Both Liverpool and Chelsea have also partnered with 1xBet, but they have now been contacted by The Gambling Commission to warn them that promoting the company could be a breach of UK law, which could bring about unlimited fines and even prison time. 

The Gambling Commission stated: “We recently wrote to Liverpool FC, Chelsea FC and Tottenham Hotspur FC to remind them that organisations engaging in sponsorship, and associated advertising arrangements, with an unlicensed operator may be liable to prosecution…for the offence of advertising unlawful gambling.” 

Liverpool, meanwhile, refused to comment on situation but Chelsea confirmed that it was monitoring the situation closely.  

1xBet said: “We take very seriously the allegation that 1xBet’s brand has been promoted on prohibited sites, which is strictly against our policies, and we have launched an investigation. Pending the outcome…we believe it is responsible to temporarily suspend our advertising activity in the UK.” 

A London monitoring firm, White Bullet Solutions, found that 1xBet had advertised their services on nearly 4,000 websites with illegal content, which is against the law in the UK.  

Matt Zarb-Cousin, of the Campaign for Fairer Gambling, said: “It is shocking that these football clubs failed to do the most basic due diligence checks on 1xBet before signing up for these multimillion-pound deals. It’s an absolute debacle.”