Gambling company Stake is giving up its licence to operate in Great Britain, according to the Gambling Commission – as it faces an investigation over a social media post featuring an adult actress.
The government body advised consumers that Stake – the current shirt sponsor of Everton FC – will no longer be a licensed website from next month” after its Isle of Man-based owner TGP Europe “stated they would be shutting the site”.
It added on Wednesday: “TGP has previously been the subject of enforcement action and after a meeting with the Commission have stated they will immediately stop accepting new registrations to the Stake.uk.com platform and remove redirection links from the main Stake website.
“Final shutdown of the Great Britain site will take place by 11 March 2025.”
The Commission added it will “be writing to Everton – along with two other football clubs with unlicensed sponsors – warning of the risks of promoting unlawful gambling websites”.
It also said: “The Commission will seek assurance from the clubs that they have carried out due diligence on their white label partners and that consumers in Great Britain cannot transact with the unlicensed sites.”
In a warning to Everton, the Commission added “club officers may be liable to prosecution and, if convicted, face a fine, imprisonment or both if they promoted unlicensed gambling businesses that transact with consumers in Great Britain”.
Stake calls itself “the world’s leading cryptocurrency casino and sportsbook,” and allows customers to bet with Bitcoin, Ethereum and other digital coins.
It does not offer crypto gambling in the UK, and the front page of the company’s website says it is unable to accept players from the UK “due to our gambling licence”.
TGP runs Stake through what is called a white label agreement, which are regularly used by international gambling firms to launch in the UK without having to invest large sums in development and infrastructure.
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It comes as the company is being probed by the Commission over a social media video featuring adult actress Bonnie Blue.
The clip, where she talked about having sex with “barely legal 18-year-olds” in their first year at Nottingham University, featured the Stake logo across the screen.
It was posted by an account claiming to be affiliated with the gambling company, rather than an official account, and has since been deleted.
It is unclear whether Bonnie Blue – whose real name is Tia Billinger – was involved in the post, and if the account had created the video or reposted it from elsewhere.
Sky News has contacted Everton for comment.
