Another day, another dollar for a well-known UK footballer who signs to promote a betting company that’s definitely not supposed to target UK consumers.

With Michael Owen having a Punt Casino partnership on his record, and Teddy Sheringham doing the same with 8xBet, this time around the star of the show is Steven Gerrad – a prominent figure in Liverpool FC’s history.

Gerrard, who lifted the 2004 Champions League trophy with Liverpool, was just announced as the latest brand ambassador of a gambling operator that close to no one in the UK would have heard of, We88.

Not to be confused with W88, the sponsor of Sunderland FC, which is another cog in what has become a major trend of Asia-facing brands not licensed in the UK prominently sponsoring UK-related football clubs and footballers.

Just like W88, We88 is not licensed by the Gambling Commission. Instead, it holds an Anjouan license and is owned by MockingBird Technologies Pte. Ltd. As such, the brand is most definitely made to cater to customers in Asia, and on the face of things it cannot be accessed in the UK.

So far, so good. However, it doesn’t help that Gerrad announced his latest partnership on his personal Instagram account, which is followed by thousands of UK-based customers. Things get even worse when you realise that the We88 website is easily accessible through a simple VPN geolocation bypass.

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A post shared by Steven Gerrard (@stevengerrard)

This raises the question just how much do those signing similar deals care about their audience and the influence they carry, especially when it comes to unlicensed gambling where problem gambling risk becomes not a probability, but a guarantee.

As part of Gerrard’s commercial deal, We88 has also included Liverpool FC shirts on the marketing section on its website, with the brand definitely not a partner of the football club. SBC News has reached out to Liverpool for comment.

Meanwhile, the UKGC has previously advised English clubs to avoid working with unlicensed betting firms, as in the cases of Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace’s deals with Kaiyun Sports. 

A Gambling Commission spokesperson told SBC News that the regulator is unable to comment on individual cases. 

However, the regulator clarified that “Anyone who engages in advertising arrangements with unlicensed gambling operators is at risk of committing the offence of advertising unlawful gambling under section 330 of the Gambling Act 2005.

“Anyone engaging in such arrangements with an unlicensed brand must ensure that online gambling activity for that unlicensed brand is blocked and inaccessible to consumers in Great Britain.”

Is there any answer to the unlicensed question?

It is well-known that offshore gambling lacks the required safety rails to prevent people from developing risky behaviour, as opposed to the long list of responsible gambling measures that licensed operators are subjected to implement.

Time and time again, gambling charities in the UK like Deal Me Out have sounded the alarm on the billions that get stolen not only from customers but also from the Treasury by operators acting outside of the UKGC jurisdiction.

As a sidenote, even wider stakeholder organisations in the industry outside operators have directly been impacted by the black market in some way or another. 

Two years ago, SBC News reported a rogue advert for an Asia-facing platform displayed on the International Betting and Gaming Association’s (IBIA) website. Now, a profile page for We88 can be seen on Gordon Moody’s website at the time of writing. 

The problem gambling treatment charity has been approached for a comment.

And finally, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has recently decided to directly address the issue of black market operators flooding British sports by launching a consultation on banning them completely.

Despite this, offshore operators are still more than willing to partner with UK football personalities and use club branding. 

This begs the question of whether a change in UK law is ultimately what is needed that would bar people with influence from entering such deals, which are often far from popular with football fandom – though whether fans are aware of the difference between unlicensed and licensed firms is another matter entirely. 

Regardless, Gerrard’s fans have certainly had their say about his new endeavour…

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