A number of Premier League teams have entered into sponsorship agreements with cryptocurrency firms that are not covered by Britain’s financial regulators and, in some cases, have even been flagged by authorities for posing risks to consumers, according to a study by the cross-border journalism collective Investigate Europe and shared with The Observer.
The group’s research found that while there are now dozens of cryptocurrency and crypto trading sponsors present in European football – some of whom lack licences to operate in the European Union – it is the Premier League, by some distance the richest domestic competition on the planet, that has most enthusiastically embraced the industry.
Though clubs will be banned from displaying the names of bookmakers and other gambling sponsors on the fronts of their shirts from the start of next season, all but six of the 20 members of the Premier League now have at least one investment sponsor.
“We’re seeing clubs and other rights-holders becoming increasingly inventive in how they look to maximise their commercial revenue,” as the law firm Walker Morris wrote in an assessment of the rise of crypto-related sponsorships earlier this year. “As a result, we anticipate a shift from a heavily gambling-oriented market possibly being replaced by crypto and other services.”
Investigate Europe found that there are 52 active partnerships between crypto-adjacent firms – either currency exchanges, wider trading platforms, or a combination of both – and European clubs for the current campaign. Most of those involve companies that are fully regulated and that actively block website access from countries where they have no authorisation.
In some cases, though, clubs have entered into agreements with firms that appear to be less stringent. In others still, clubs have signed deals with companies that appear on either the warning list of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) or the International Securities and Commodities Alerts Network.
Newcastle have entered into a second season with VT Markets as their ‘Financial Trading Partner’. The Australian firm offers trading in forex, precious metals and other commodities and instruments. Its website boasts of the “limitless possibilities” available to customers on its platform.
VT Markets has been on the warning list of the FCA since 2023 and does not hold any domestic license. In Europe, the brand is on warning lists in Italy, Belgium and Denmark. The FCA states that the firm “may be providing or promoting financial services or products without our permission. You should avoid dealing with this firm and beware of scams.”
Investigate Europe found that when attempting to register from the UK, visitors are informed that VT Markets is only covered by South African authorities and users opening an account do so at their “own discretion and initiative”. Similar wording is used by several other firms identified in the group’s analysis.
“A simple disclaimer about the lack of consumer protections [doesn't] absolve the firm of all responsibilities. If they are promoting or offering regulated products or services without the necessary permissions, then they could be in breach, and we may take action against them,” a FCA spokesperson told Investigate Europe.
In October, VT Markets became the official trading partner of the Portuguese Football Federation (PFF), under the slogan ‘Invest in Greatness’. VT Markets doesn’t hold a licence in Portugal, but the platform is still accessible to users in Portugal who can register on it. The company is authorised in the UAE, and the deal with the PFF is as official trading partner in the Middle East and North Africa. Newcastle and VT Markets did not respond to requests for comment. The Premier League declined to comment to Investigate Europe.
Chelsea and Tottenham both have agreements with firms that allow UK customers to register should they ignore a disclaimer over a lack of consumer protections. Manchester City, meanwhile, counts OKX – one of the world’s largest exchanges – as its official crypto partner. Earlier this year the Seychelles-registered firm was found guilty of violating US anti-money laundering laws and was fined more than $500m.
OKX is not registered as a crypto asset business with the FCA but many of its products are still available there. Its website tells potential UK customers that they will not be covered by the FCA’s consumer protections nor the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. Manchester City and OKX did not respond to requests for comment by the time of publication.
Although there is no suggestion of wrongdoing, the research does suggest that some Premier League clubs may be lending their credibility to firms that place their fans at risk. “If you associate your club with a brand, you are suggesting to fans that you trust them,” sports marketing expert Tim Crow told the Financial Times earlier this year. “You have to be damn sure you’ve done your due diligence, so that it doesn't turn out that your fans regret it later.”
A number of clubs have cut short sponsor agreements with crypto firms in recent years: Sporting Lisbon terminated its partnership with Bitci in 2022 for non-payment, while Atlético Madrid has sued crypto exchange WhaleFin after it defaulted on a €20m per season contract.
That has not been enough to stem the tide of crypto money being pumped into football, or to reduce the clubs’ appetite to sign deals with crypto firms. Cryptocurrency exchanges invested $565m in sports sponsorships globally last season, with football alone accounting for 59% of the total, according to marketing company SportQuake. Trading brands, meanwhile, have tripled their spending since 2019, reaching $183m, the research estimated.
Photograph by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images