Asia

Mystery surrounds 8XBet, Manchester City’s new Asian betting partner. Open-source intelligence points to the UAE.

Bet365’s foray into the Chinese market may have expanded to include more than 12,000 domain names during the pandemic. IP addresses registered in Australia but located offshore, some possibly in Hong Kong, have been a key part of its operation.

You’d have thought that with the imminent publication of the British government’s White Paper on gambling and the current public interest in – and criticism of – that business, English football clubs would have taken a step back in their toxic relationship with bookmakers. At least for a while.

Eight Premier League clubs – including Manchester United and Chelsea – are current partners of Asian bookmakers registered in the Philippines. A devastating new report documents in detail the crimes and human horrors behind the inviting facade of these online operators.

Yabo Sports was about to conquer the world of football, before disappearing almost as soon as they had arrived. And the man posing on the deals done with Manchester United, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain was not the CEO of Yabo Sports, but a male model.

The links between Premier League clubs and mysterious Asian e-Gambling platforms keeps getting stronger. Everton recently announced i8.BET as the club’s new Asian betting partner. But who they are, what they actually do, no-one knows, aside from a handful of individuals who are neither seen, heard or scrutinised.

«Now, look, very often, these bank guarantees aren’t worth the paper they’re written on. Like I saw one example where the bank guarantee came from that country’s central bank, but when the money came, it came from a hundred different accounts, and you think, what on earth is going on there?»

Premier League clubs are unwilling to answer questions regarding their Asian betting sponsors and partners.

Is the Premier League used as part of an unprecedented money-laundering operation?