Questions are swirling around Crystal Palace’s new front-of-shirt sponsor – a little-known Vietnamese gambling firm that appears to have no functioning UK website.
The football club announced they had inked a new “record” two-year deal with online gambling firm Net88 on Wednesday, whose logo will be on the club’s kit next season as well as their training wear.
The club said Net88 will also “receive visibility across Selhurst Park on matchdays and the website”.
But very little is known about the firm, prompting confusion and concern from supporters on social media.
The firm did not have a working website in the UK or an official X account until this week, according to reports.
Its UK website (https://net-88.co.uk/) currently displays the message: “We are working on building a brand new betting experience. Our full website will be live soon”.
The shirt deal comes after Asian gambling firm Debet agreed a similar two-year front-of-shirt deal with Wolverhampton Wanderers.
In its announcement on Tuesday, the club described the firm as “one of Southeast Asia’s fastest growing gaming platforms”, which offers “an exciting range of sports betting and casino gaming products”.
But like Net88, its UK website (https://www.de-bet.co.uk/) is also not up and running.
Matt Zarb-Cousin, the director of Clean Up Gambling, highlighted that both firms have been licensed through so-called white label arrangements, where foreign brands that want a UK presence can take on the licence held by a local UK operator without going through any licensing checks.
Such arrangements are not illegal, but there are concerns that some firms could use this set up to circumvent the Gambling Commissions’ licensing suitability checks.
“Neither Net88 nor Debet have functioning UK-facing websites, they have been licensed through ‘white label’ arrangements with existing licence holders Risq and TGP Europe,” Zarb-Cousin said in a statement.
“This has enabled these brands to bypass initial due diligence, giving them permission to advertise in the Premier League with a view to appealing to Asian markets where online gambling and gambling advertising is illegal,” he said.
The Premier League clubs voluntarily agreed last year to ban front-of-shirt sponsorship deals with gambling companies from the summer of 2026. But it will still be possible to promote gambling firms on shirt sleeves or on pitchside advertising boards.
But Zarb-Cousin said “the next government could eliminate the vast majority of gambling advertising in football by banning white labels”.
A spokesman for the Gambling Commission said: “We are very clear that responsibility for compliance sits with the licence holder and cannot be transferred to any other party. A failure to maintain adequate control of third parties can result in regulatory action including suspension or the loss of the operating licence.
“We expect licensees to ensure that when agreeing commercial deals with sports clubs, that all parties are aware of, and compliant with, the relevant advertising and sponsorship rules and regulations”.
Neil Hopkins, the global head of strategy at M&C Saatchi Sport and Entertainment, said there’s no real surprise that clubs are continuing to secure such deals with gambling firms ahead of the voluntary ban, noting Aston Villa’s recent deal with Betano.
“The key reason why the Palace and Wolves deals don’t seem to have gone down spectacularly well with fans is that while Betano has a UK operation and is fairly well known to bettors, neither Net88 or Debet have functional websites, relying instead on strikingly similar holding pages and very little else,” Hopkins said.
“It’s obviously legitimate for fans to question the provenance of their sponsors given that their logo will be emblazoned on the shirts that thousands of them will buy.”
Neil Hopkins, the global head of strategy at M&C Saatchi Sport and Entertainment
“It’s obviously legitimate for fans to question the provenance of their sponsors given that their logo will be emblazoned on the shirts that thousands of them will buy,” he added.
Hopkins said, however, that the issue also highlights that clubs outside the very top echelons of the Premier League are finding it tough to attract shirt sponsors.
“The looming ban is definitely going to focus the minds of commercial directors up and down the league but alternatives will emerge,” he said.
Crystal Palace and Wolverhampton Wanderers were contacted for comment. City A.M. was unable to reach Net88 or Debet for comment.
This article was updated to include a comment from the Gambling Commission.