Leicester City FC has been scolded over its reunion with BC.Game over accusations that it risks undermining safer gambling efforts in the UK.
The Championship side confirmed that the operator, which does not hold a licence for the UK market, will serve as its front-of-shirt partner for the remainder of the 2025/26 season.
“This is a practice that the [UK Gambling Commissions] need to be empowered to stamp out,” Garvie told SlotBeats.
“That a major UK football club has chosen to legitimise a gambling operator that is illegal in the UK only adds to consumer confusion around which sites are legal and appropriately regulated.”
The operator previously featured on Leicester’s kit during the club’s 2024/25 Premier League season.
Within their announcements, both Leicester and BC.Game stressed that the operator is not available to players in the UK.
According to UKGC rules, clubs are required to ensure that UK consumers are unable to access their gambling partners if they are not licensed in the UK.
After withdrawing from Curaçao, BC.Game gained a licence in Anjouan through its parent company Twocent Technology Limited.
Its local entity, Blockdance Africa Limited, was also recently granted two licences by the Betting Control and Licensing Board of Kenya, enabling BC.Game to operate in the Kenyan market.
As per UKGC rules, clubs are required to ensure that UK players are unable to access their gambling partners if they are not licensed in the country. In both parties’ announcements of the deal, it was notable that they included a warning that BC.Game is not available in the UK.
Garvie revealed that so far in 2025, BetBlocker has been the second biggest referrer of traffic to BetBlocker, an app that allows players to block access to gambling websites on their devices for a set period of time.
“Due to the unregulated business model BC.Game has adopted, they do not contribute to any of the ecosystems (worldwide) that support organisations working to reduce gambling harm,” Garvie lamented. “They will have sent tens of thousands of visitors to our service by the end of the year.
Midway through last season, Leicester were forced to reassure their fans that BC.Game would meet its contractual and financial obligations after reports emerged that the operator had gone bankrupt.
BC.Game always denied these reports and maintained that it had no issues with liquidity or financial stability.
On the operator’s return, Leicester City’s Chair, Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, commented: “As a Club, it is important that our commercial partnerships continue to support our ambitions. We continue to work hard to ensure every partnership helps us to achieve our goals, supports investment in the team, and contributes to Leicester City’s long-term sustainability.”
Perhaps highlighting the discontent surrounding such partnerships by football fans, Leicester confirmed that it will continue to sell shirts without the BC.Game logo, a policy that the club says aligns with feedback from their Fan Engagement Framework.
SlotBeats reached out to the UKGC for comment.