Tottenham have “terminated” their sponsorship contract with betting company 1xBet, according to The Times journalist Jon Ungoed-Thomas.
Spurs made the announcement in a statement given to the outlet on Saturday evening, with the deal believed to be valued as “multi-million pound”.
The contract with the Russian company was set to run until 2022, and was only signed in August of 2018.
Breaking: Tottenham Hotspur football club says in statement to @thesundaytimes it has "terminated" its multi-million pound betting partnership with gambling firm 1xBet. The deal was to run until 2022.
— Jon Ungoed-Thomas (@JonUngoedThomas) August 31, 2019
Why have Spurs cancelled the deal?
It seems unorthodox to cancel a deal with a company partway through a contract, especially when said deal is bringing in some extra revenue, but by the sounds of it Spurs have had their hands forced a little on this one.
According to a report in The Times, the club were facing a hefty fine if they decided to continue in their relationship with their official global betting partner.
This comes in the wake of the outlet revealing that 1xBet have been blacklisted by gambling regulators around the world as a result of its brand being used to promote betting on children’s sports, cockfighting and a casino with topless women dealing the cards.
1xBet are also understood to be one of the biggest advertisers on illegal streams of Premier League matches.
The report from The Times also suggests that Chelsea and Liverpool were given similarly threatening ultimatums by Britain’s gambling regulator.
The broadsheet also exposed 1xBet attempts to fuel a youth gambling epidemic in Kenya, just 11 months after Spurs made the company their official African betting partner.
Given all of this negative press it is no surprise that Spurs have sought to distance themselves from 1xBet as quickly as possible.
Daniel Levy is renowned for being a financially savvy, and perhaps even cautious owner, and he will know that cutting ties is much better than a fine, largely because it will reflect much better on the brand of his club.
Do not be surprised to see Chelsea and Liverpool follow suit very quickly, and for 1xBet to be completely removed from the English game in the near future.