The Top 5 betting operators attracting the most complaints from customers in 2025 at AskGamblers.com are also major sponsors of sport, football and cricket in particular. Do those sports know? Do they care? Probably not

FIFA is embracing the betting industry with troubling consequences in a remorseless attempt to commercialise everything everywhere all at once - for @playthegame-org.bsky.social www.playthegame.org/news/fifa-s-...

FIFA’s growing ties to betting operators, prediction markets, and data companies are opening new integrity risks⚠️ Experts warn that football’s global body is commercialising betting opportunities faster than it can police them By @stevemenary.bsky.social 👇 www.playthegame.org/news/fifa-s-...

New! Ny! Popular Norwegian football app FotMob is being used as a platform to advertise illegal betting across the globe. By @stevemenary.bsky.social josimarfootball.com/2026/04/30/i...

New for @josimarfootball.bsky.social, by @stevemenary.bsky.social: FotMob has become one of the world's most popular score apps...and a favoured conduit for illegal betting operators to promote their brands in Asia. josimarfootball.com/2026/04/30/i...

Has multi club ownership peaked? Number of linked clubs looks to have fallen back … #MCO www.linkedin.com/posts/steve-...

4 games in English women’s Metro Cup cricket were available yesterday with a live stream in India, where betting is largely illegal, on 1xBet. Given the clubs should ultimately be responsible for this livestream, how is it appearing on 1xBet?

The dark underbelly of women's cricket's growth. A grim read - but an important one.

New investigation from @jackkerr.bsky.social and myself on how shady offshore betting operators linked to porn are exploiting women’s cricket for @playthegame-org.bsky.social @cricketacademic.bsky.social www.playthegame.org/news/from-po...

Gambling site promoted by Irish tipster uses ‘fraudulent licence’, says overseas central bank www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2026...

Kherson are playing Zaporizhia, and the match is available for in-play bets because someone is collecting live data. Surely this is a problem?!

"Alexander Smith" was the representative of illegal bookmaker Z6 when they signed a deal with the Croatian national team. But "Alexander Smith" does not exist. So who is this man? A (wild) joint investigation by @josimarfootball.bsky.social and @bellingcat.com. josimarfootball.com/2026/04/01/m...

FIFA World Cup 2026: In Trump’s America, nothing can be ruled out. A piece for @playthegame_org about this summer's tournament. www.playthegame.org/news/fifa-wo...

Nine years out from the World Cup and Saudi Arabia is intimidating the unions to get a complaint at the ILO dropped. My latest for @josimarfootball.bsky.social. josimarfootball.com/2026/03/19/c...

Når selskaper som hevder å beskytte fotballen mot kampfiksing er de samme som legger til rette for kampfiksing, blir hver kamp en varslet kampfiksingskatastrofe. Det kan også ramme Norge. Kommentar og analyse av @stevemenary.bsky.social josimar.no/artikler/spi...

New for @josimarfootball.bsky.social: part 1 of our investigation into 8Xbet, the new unlicensed betting partner of Newcastle United, who now sponsor *nine* English clubs - when the government is making noises about a full ban of unlicensed bookmakers. Really? josimarfootball.com/2026/03/09/c...

New for @josimarfootball.bsky.social. I wish to express thanks and my admiration to Zohreh Abdollahkhani, who found the courage and the strength to write this heart-rending piece, commissioned before Iran was attacked by the US and Israel. josimarfootball.com/2026/03/05/s...

Our final #CRN2026 panel is focused on Governance and Sustainability. @stevemenary.bsky.social shares worrying findings about illegal betting sponsorship, which doubled between 2021 and 2025. Harry Brook, Steve argues, is (inadvertently) helping to promote illegal betting in the screenshot below.

A YouTube channel called VORA has posted a video which is a complete rip-off of the work @stevemenary.bsky.social has done on how illegal sports betting operators are using FIFA+ live football streaming. Pure theft. Zero credit. Just fishing for clicks at the expense of a proper journalist.

Great piece by Steve. We are looking forward to his presentation on this topic at our conference in 2 weeks time. #CRN2026

EXPOSED: the rise of illegal and unregulated betting companies in international cricket Brilliant piece by @stevemenary.bsky.social sportingintelligence832.substack.com/p/exposed-th...

Is football at the frontline of the next financial crisis? Private Equity firms are using complex offshore arrangements to channel insurance money into football. This Bermuda Triangle strategy ended badly for 777 Partners, but could be a preview of the future. www.playthegame.org/news/investm...

Next Arctic Winter Games at Whitehorse in March should be interesting as Greenland and Alaska both sending teams www.awg2026.org

More than 200 non league players and staff charged by the FA for betting offences since 2015 - 3/4 of all charges. Why is the FA going after easy targets? On Substack for @sportingintel.bsky.social open.substack.com/pub/sporting...

New for @josimarfootball.bsky.social. And depressing. Correspondence between the Premier League and the British government suggests that elite English football clubs will be allowed to pursue commercial relationships with illegal betting operators in the future. josimarfootball.com/2026/01/13/s...

From Aruba and Mauritania to the Seychelles, FIFA is commercialising as many lower-level games as possible via FIFA+. Stats Perform will be collecting the data for betting operators. Here is more background. With @stevemenary.bsky.social. www.playthegame.org/news/fifa-li...

There are now at least 444 clubs around in some form of multi club ownership www.linkedin.com/posts/steve-...

Before offering a game, bookies want a broadcast or livestream and access to live data. FIFA’s streaming service FIFA+ and its data company friends are doing this - without the clubs even knowing! With @samindrakunti.bsky.social for @playthegame-org.bsky.social www.playthegame.org/news/fifa-li...

From the crazy world of illegal gambling, one of the craziest stories we at @josimarfootball.bsky.social have come across in our investigations (and that is saying something). Who is "William Anderson", "founder" of Milan's new Asian betting partner sureWin? josimarfootball.com/2025/12/15/t...

I spent a couple of weeks watching FIFA+. Here's the story with @stevemenary.bsky.social. For @playthegame-org.bsky.social. www.playthegame.org/news/fifa-li...

Unlicensed betting companies are using FIFA’s own streaming platform to offer in-play wagers on low-level matches worldwide. Many smaller federations are unaware their match data is exploited this way, write @stevemenary.bsky.social & @samindrakunti.bsky.social 👇 www.playthegame.org/news/fifa-li...

Full programme for our 2026 conference now available! Hughes Hall, Cambridge, 26 Feb 9am to 5pm Register here: www.cricketsociety.org.uk/events/crick...

Tuvalu’s international ambitions helped by US tech bros in latest edition of @worldsoccermag.bsky.social

Inplay bets offered on amateur US college soccer by offshore sites but who is making it happen? With @jackkerr.bsky.social, @samindrakunti.bsky.social & @philippeauclair.bsky.social for @socceramerica.bsky.social & @josimarfootball.bsky.social Thanks to the FIJ www.socceramerica.com/illegal-offs...

Dafabet is all over English cricket, sponsoring live streams of games watched in India where betting is largely illegal. Great work by @nathanpaulsouthern.bsky.social and Lindsey Kennedy for @josimarfootball.bsky.social @cricketacademic.bsky.social josimarfootball.com/2025/10/29/d...

PANEL: Cricket, Gambling and Match-Fixing 29 October 2025 5pm-6pm (London time - GMT) Chair: @stevemenary.bsky.social Panelists: Dr Minhyeok Tak – Loughborough University, Anca-Maria Ghergel – Sheffield Hallam University, Will Gunn – Sporting Solutions Open to all. DM us for the Teams link!

Thanks to @playthegame-org.bsky.social for this platform and @stevemenary.bsky.social for the write-up! www.playthegame.org/news/fifa-is...

New. For months, the Russian army has secretly recruited hundreds, if not thousands, of jobless migrant workers in Qatar to fight on the frontline against Ukraine. By @samindrakunti.bsky.social and @bobbyperu.bsky.social josimarfootball.com/2025/09/25/t...

@begovicmarko.bsky.social and I teamed up to write this new report on the growth of offshore betting regulators which facilitate illegal betting and match fixing ifhaonline.org/default.asp?...

Important new research from Steve Menary on the increase in relationships between betting companies and leading cricket teams, tournaments & players post-Covid. Have a read below ⬇️⬇️

Cricket is being flooded by betting companies targeting South Asia .. where betting is largely illegal. New research showing how big the problem is for @playthegame-org.bsky.social @cricketacademic.bsky.social www.playthegame.org/news/new-res...

New. Money-laundering, scamming, cyber slavery compounds and appalling human rights abuses are no obstacles for Premier League clubs looking for betting partners – or the UK regulator. By @philippeauclair.bsky.social josimarfootball.com/2025/07/29/p...

New. Uefa’s integrity partner Sportradar consistently claims that it doesn’t sell data to unlicensed gambling operators. But its annual report states that it generates significant revenue from unlicensed gambling. By @journoandy.bsky.social josimarfootball.com/2025/07/22/b...

Sportradar always claim to protect the integrity of the game. In reality, they are the baddies. Latest with @philippeauclair.bsky.social, @journoandy.bsky.social, @stevemenary.bsky.social and Jack Kerr. josimarfootball.com/2025/07/22/b...

New. Leicester were set to unveil their kit for the new season last week, but the announcement was postponed. Was it because their new sponsor KBET is a hitherto unknown – and illegal – online bookmaker? By @philippeauclair.bsky.social josimarfootball.com/2025/07/21/r...

New: Sanctioned? Fined? Banned? Not a problem if you’re a sports betting company eager to do business. Illegal bookmakers linked to Premier League clubs recently set up stalls at a gambling conference in London. By @philippeauclair.bsky.social josimarfootball.com/2025/07/07/b...

You may have noticed ‘Flabet’ at the Club World Cup. Here’s the story of Flamengo’s shirt sponsor. For @josimarfootball.bsky.social josimarfootball.com/2025/07/03/f...

Preseason friendlies are now an excuse for major clubs to jet around the world looking for new sponsors and fans - for @sportingintel.bsky.social open.substack.com/pub/sporting... @cooldownnetwork.bsky.social @fbandclimate.bsky.social

Just two clubs will make their debut in the UEFA Champions League in 2025/26. The door is neary closed, the Super League almost here … For the Union of European Clubs www.ueceurope.org/post/ucl-div...