{"id":113782,"date":"2019-09-02T04:51:21","date_gmt":"2019-09-02T11:51:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=113782"},"modified":"2019-09-02T13:42:26","modified_gmt":"2019-09-02T20:42:26","slug":"tottenham-hotspur-cans-controversial-russian-betting-partner-1xbet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/tottenham-hotspur-cans-controversial-russian-betting-partner-1xbet\/","title":{"rendered":"Tottenham Hotspur Cans Controversial Russian Betting Partner 1XBET After Regulator Threatens Prosecution"},"content":{"rendered":"

English Premier League (EPL) team Tottenham Hotspur<\/a> has torn up a controversial sponsorship agreement with Russian betting outfit 1XBet following the suspension of its operations<\/a> last month due to an investigation by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC).<\/p>\n

\"Tottenham
Spurs (wearing white shirts) in action against arch-rivals Arsenal in the North London Derby on Sunday, which ended 2-2. Earlier, the team announced it had parted ways with 1XBET. (Image: AFP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The move comes after the regulator wrote to Tottenham — as well as Liverpool and Chelsea, which have similar deals with the operator — warning them they face prosecution and millions in fines if they continue to promote 1XBET because it is currently unlicensed in the UK.<\/p>\n

The operator, which last December won \u201cRising Star in Sports Betting Innovation\u201d at the Sports Betting Community (SBC) Awards, has recently signed numerous deals with elite soccer teams, including European champions Liverpool, as well as Chelsea and Barcelona.<\/p>\n

Fellow EPL squads Liverpool and Chelsea have yet to comment on whether they intend to end their contracts with 1XBET, although it would seem they have little option but to do so.<\/p>\n

Cockfighting and Piracy <\/strong><\/h2>\n

The UKGC launched its investigation after an expos\u00e9 in The Sunday Times<\/em> accused 1XBET of offering cockfighting in certain jurisdictions, promoting a porn-themed casino, offering bets on sports played by under-18s, and — ironically for the EPL teams — being one of the world\u2019s biggest advertisers on piracy sites that illegally stream EPL soccer matches.<\/p>\n

The Times<\/em> also expressed concern that the company\u2019s license had been suspended in Kenya, where the newspaper accused it of \u201cfuelling a youth gambling epidemic.\u201d<\/p>\n

We take very seriously the allegation that 1XBET\u2019s brand has been promoted on prohibited sites, which is strictly against our policies, and we have launched an investigation,\u201d said 1XBET in a statement to The Times,<\/em> addressing the piracy issues. \u201cPending the outcome \u2026 we believe it is responsible to temporarily suspend our advertising in the UK.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If 1XBET addressed any of the other allegations against it, The Times<\/em> did not report it.<\/p>\n

The situation raises questions about soccer clubs\u2019 due diligence when accepting sponsorship deals with the betting industry at a time when their financial dependence on gambling money is under scrutiny from media and politicians.<\/p>\n

1XBET did not have full-fledged licensing in the UK but operated indirectly through the \u201cwhite-label\u201d system, via FSB Technology (UK) Ltd. This is where a platform is designed to look and feel like a company or brand but is in fact hosted and managed by a licensed third party.<\/p>\n

FSB Tech Under Scrutiny <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Late last month, it emerged that the UK operations of another FSB Tech partner, Blackbet, have also been suspended at the regulator\u2019s request.<\/p>\n

FSB told iGamingBusiness.com the Commission had expressed concerns about a lack of due diligence performed on a \u201csmall number\u201d of its white label partners.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis process is isolated to a nominal amount of white label licences only, and no further impact or site-suspension is expected,” said FSB Tech. “These partners and FSB are now fully cooperating with the [UK]GC, and we anticipate comprehensive resolution of those concerns in short order.\u201d<\/p>\n

Blackbet launched in 2017, mysteriously promising to offer \u201cethnic sports betting\u201d and is believed to be linked to a Nigerian wagering company called Yellow-Bet.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

English Premier League (EPL) team Tottenham Hotspur has torn up a controversial sponsorship agreement with Russian betting outfit 1XBet following the suspension of its operations last month due to an investigation by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC). The move comes after the regulator wrote to Tottenham — as well as Liverpool and Chelsea, which have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":113783,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,16],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nTottenham Hotspur Cans Controversial Russian Betting Partner 1XBET<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Spurs dumps 1XBET after operations suspended in the UK, following warning of fines from UKGC. 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Chelsea and Liverpool yet to act.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/tottenham-hotspur-cans-controversial-russian-betting-partner-1xbet\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-09-02T11:51:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-09-02T20:42:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/spurs.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@casinoorgphilc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/tottenham-hotspur-cans-controversial-russian-betting-partner-1xbet\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/tottenham-hotspur-cans-controversial-russian-betting-partner-1xbet\/\",\"name\":\"Tottenham Hotspur Cans Controversial Russian Betting Partner 1XBET\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/tottenham-hotspur-cans-controversial-russian-betting-partner-1xbet\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/tottenham-hotspur-cans-controversial-russian-betting-partner-1xbet\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/spurs.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-09-02T11:51:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-09-02T20:42:26+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b\"},\"description\":\"Spurs dumps 1XBET after operations suspended in the UK, following warning of fines from UKGC. 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