An ongoing saga
The owner of the sportsbook brand that is the front-of-shirt sponsor of English Premier League (EPL) team Fulham FC has been fined £3.9m ($5.3m) by the Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission (GSC).
SBOTOP has appeared on the front of the London-based club’s jerseys since June 2023
The logo of SBOTOP has appeared on the front of the London-based club’s jerseys since June 2023, with TGP Europe operating the brand in the UK through a white-label arrangement until it withdrew from the market in May.
The decision to leave came off the back of a UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) investigation for social responsibility and anti-money laundering (AML) issues which resulted in a £3.3m ($3.8m) penalty. Other brands it ran included Fun88, Kaiyun Sports, and DuelBits.
The latest big penalty
Celton Manx Limited, the owner of SBOTOP, has now received the £3.9m ($5.3m) penalty in the Isle of Man, with the regulator citing major AML concerns.
regulator downgrading it by 30% due to Celton Manx’s attempts to fix the issues
These ranged from insufficient identity verification protocols, subpar handling of suspicious activity, and no evidence of proper customer monitoring. The original fine was £5.6m ($7.6m), with the regulator downgrading it by 30% due to Celton Manx’s attempts to fix the issues from an early stage in the investigative process.
The probe began in October 2024 and Celton Manx ended up surrendering its Isle of Man license in May 2025 without giving any public explanation. The GSC at the time said that licensees can give up their permits for several reasons and said that it was “unable to discuss individual circumstances in this regard.”
Soccer sponsorship chaos
Questions persist about EPL teams that have relationships with brands that no longer have a license in the UK following the demise of TGP Europe and Celton Manx.
The UKGC has already warned clubs about promoting unlicensed sites to UK-based fans. They need to ensure that the sites have proper geoblocks and team officials face prosecution if they fail to do so.
a record sponsorship agreement without disclosing an actual figure
Fulham FC’s deal with SBOTOP is a lucrative one. The club said it was a record sponsorship agreement without disclosing an actual figure.
According to The Sponsor, Fulham’s fair market sponsorship value is about £10.6m ($12.3m), with this figure expected to almost halve when the EPL’s front-of-shirt ban on betting sponsors kicks in ahead of the 2026/2027 season.
