This legal concundrum, involving Everton, was spotted by Mike Gaynes:
The Coalition to End Gambling Ads (CEGA) have written to the Gambling Commission, demanding action against Everton and Leicester City for advertising gambling firms that illegally allow access to UK customers.
The Gambling Commission announced earlier this year that Everton’s shirt sponsor, Stake, would lose its UK license on 11 March — among other things, for using the image of a porn star in their adverts. The Gambling Commission directed Everton and Leicester City to demonstrate that our sponsors effectively block UK access. “Clubs will be expected to carry out sufficient due diligence…” said the Gambling Commission.
As reported today by The Athletic, CEGA used a Virtual Private Network to access Stake’s website and deposit cryptocurrency for gambling. Stake’s system spotted the ID issue after about an hour and restricted the account. CEGA says that means Everton haven’t done their due diligence and wants to know what action the Gambling Commission will take.
From the article:
Everton noted that their deal with Stake is a global partnership and maintain they have not advertised the UK market. They also said that they have done what was expected and asked of them in terms of being compliant with the GC’s regulations and were provided with assurances from Stake around the measures the company has taken.
Stake responded with outrage at CEGA:
“The coalition’s actions were not just deceptive — they were outright fraudulent and illegal. They knowingly used a VPN to bypass geographic restrictions. They intentionally falsified personal details, including name, address, and identity. They deliberately misled Stake by accepting T&Cs they were in clear violation of. They fraudulently created an account using fake credentials, engaging in identity fraud. They attempted to conduct an illegal transaction, despite being in violation of multiple safeguards. Stake’s compliance systems worked exactly as intended — the fraudulent account was swiftly flagged and permanently closed.
“The reality is simple: extreme, illegal steps were taken to create an account, only to have it shut down by Stake within the hour. This was never about fairness or regulation — it was a targeted attack designed to mislead.”