Declared bankrupt in Curaçao for not paying punters, BC.GAME, main sponsor of Leicester City FC in the 2024/25 season, moved jurisdiction. But the company behind BC.GAME does not exist.
By Steve Menary and Philippe Auclair
The company was licenced in the Caribbean island of Curaçao but had its licence revoked after being declared bankrupt for failing to settle bets with several customers. Like many offshore betting companies, BC.GAME then moved to the Indian Ocean island of Anjouan, where a licence was acquired using a company called Twocent Technology Limited, registered in Belize.
However, the Financial Services Commission in Belize confirmed to one of the debtors pursuing BC.GAME for being locked out of their account that they were unable to find any company called Twocent Technology Limited registered in the country.
A search of global corporate registry Open Corporates does not reveal any company of that name registered at any corporate register anywhere in the world.
A tech company purporting to bear that name has set up a website which does not list any physical address, corporate details or phone number and does not give any information about who might be running the operation. None of the functions or services it claims to propose appear to be functional or available. Josimar used the “contact email address” to ask whether this “company” had any link with BC.GAME but did not hear back from them.
BC.GAME had to suspend its UK operation in November 2024 and the company that had provided that licence, which enabled the company to sponsor Leicester, TGP Europe, had to leave the British market in May 2025 after a Great Britain Gambling Commission (GBGC) investigation.
In February, the GBGC warned a number of football clubs about taking sponsorship from illegal betting companies.* Although Leicester City was not one of those clubs named specifically by the GBGC, the commission’s head of enforcement John Pierce said: “It is essential that football clubs play their part in protecting fans and GB consumers who may be exposed to advertising of these sites through their sponsorship arrangements from harm or exploitation.”
What makes BC.GAME particularly egregious is that unlike other Asian-facing sports betting operators, BC.GAME took on British customers and carried on doing so even after having its licence revoked by the Great Britain Gambling Commission.
Complaints galore
Josimar also identified active websites which have been set up to circumvent geo-blocking and enable customers to access the operator from jurisdictions where BC.GAME is banned, including the United Kingdom.
Screengrabs from two websites, accessible from the UK, which enable gamblers to log on to BC.GAME from jurisdictions where it is illegal.
Despite all these issues, Leicester City continued to wear shirts bearing the BC.GAME logo up to the end of the season. BC.GAME also used the football club in its advertising at international events, such as the ICE betting conference in Barcelona earlier this year.
As can be seen below, Leicester City still lists another illegal Asian-facing betting sponsor, 12bet, on its own partners page. 12bet, another TGP White Label brand, is also unlicensed in the United Kingdom. The club’s logo is displayed prominently on 12bet’s Thai website.
In addition, BC.GAME was ranked as the company generating the largest numbers of complaints last year at alternative dispute resolution organisation, AskGamblers.com, which helps bettors in disputes with illegal betting companies.
In a ranking led by offshore betting companies that are all major sponsors of sport, BC.GAME produced the most complaints and resolved the least among the top five operators.
Josimar asked Leicester City if the club plans to have BC.GAME on their shirts next season, as the club’s announcement of their partnership with the crypto casino, published in July 2024, mentioned a “multi-year principal partnership”.
Leicester City FC were also asked by Josimar to comment on why the company behind BC.GAME does not appear to exist, and whether they would take on other Asian-facing betting operators as partners or sponsors for the 2025-26 season and beyond. Last, the club was invited to make a comment on the Great Britain Gambling Commission’s warning to football clubs considering striking partnership deals with illegal betting companies.
Leicester City FC have yet to respond to our enquiries.
(*) “illegal sports betting” means “any sports betting activity whose type or operator is not allowed under the applicable law of the jurisdiction where the consumer is located,” in line with the definition agreed by the Macolin Convention.
