The Premier League is facing an investigation over its connections to TGP Europe, a business based on the Isle of Man that has been linked to jailed Macau tycoon, Alvin Chau.
Premier League Under Investigation
Chau, the former CEO of Suncity Group, was recently convicted of 100 charges related to organized crime and illegal gambling and was sentenced to 18 years in prison. The connections between Chau and TGP were brought to light in a recent investigation by the Daily Mail, which found that ten Premier League clubs currently have partnerships with eight “Asian-facing” sportsbook brands that have used TGP services to secure UK online gambling licenses.These sponsorships are highly visible in the Premier League, with TGP-related deals currently in place at league leaders Arsenal and champions Manchester City, as well as at clubs like Everton, Tottenham Hotspur, and Newcastle United.Sir Iain Duncan Smith, Vice-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Gambling Harm, has criticised the Premier League and UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) for allowing TGP brands to have a presence in English football.
“The reputational harm to the EPL is considerable and this risk is not to be taken lightly,” he said in a statement to the Daily Mail. “The APPG would call on the Gambling Commission, the Premier League, the clubs, and also TGP itself to explain the nature of these links and if we are not satisfied with the explanation, we will be holding an inquiry.”
Sufficient Due Diligence Carried out by the UKGC
The UKGC stated it has no direct authority to demand that football bosses reveal the owners of club sponsorships, many of which can be hidden from the public via private trusts in offshore territories. The Premier League, for its part, has said that it carried out due diligence on its betting partners but did not find it “practical or necessary” to review other companies working on assisting commercial tie-ups.This investigation comes as the government prepares to publish a white paper on gambling in February, and as the Gambling Harm APPG continues to call for the elimination of betting sponsorships from English football. “It is clear that the Premier League clubs need to come clean on whether they know who the beneficial owners are of these Asian-facing brands,” said Duncan Smith. “Have the clubs done full due diligence, and whether, ultimately, they know where the tens of millions of pounds that pour into their coffers come from?”