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...

Why is England’s cricket team unwittingly being used to promote illegal betting? Time for a rethink on the rules? For @sportingintel.bsky.social more in person at the next @cricketacademic.bsky.social conference on Feb 26 open.substack.com/pub/sporting...

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...

MCO problems keep on coming: UEFA investigating potential conflict of interest between participation of DAC 1904 from Slovakia and Hungary’s ETO, which is subject to “legal proceedings”

Two decades ago I started writing this book. Gibraltar & Kosovo made it into FIFA but Greenland’s treatment by football’s governing bodies is a total disgrace. What are these organisations for other than to cosy up to dictators and sell out football? Greenland = The Original Outcasts

New. 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 @stevemenary.bsky.social and @philippeauclair.bsky.social josimarfootball.com/2025/06/10/g...

We have one month to save @josimarfootball.bsky.social. If you can help, please do. 🙏 josimarfootball.com/2025/06/03/a...

€173 to fix a match!

New. Russian gambling operators are offering live betting on Ukrainian football matches – often thanks to data from Uefa’s long-term integrity partner, Sportradar. By @samindrakunti.bsky.social, @jackkerr.bsky.social, @philippeauclair.bsky.social josimarfootball.com/2025/05/20/p...

Extraordinary news. TGP Europe, the company which enabled dozens of illegal Asian-facing sports betting operators to be registered in Great Britain - and sponsor PL clubs - has surrendered its licences. Good riddance. www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/public-regis...

Fourth and final instalment of the special report @stevemenary.bsky.social and I have done on multi-club ownership for @playthegame-org.bsky.social: this time, the crazy world of MCO in Mexico, where the biggest bookmaker, Caliente, is also the biggest club owner. www.playthegame.org/news/the-dom...

So 1xBet is now a ‘member and committed supporter’ of Sports Integrity Global Alliance siga-sport.com/members-and-... 1xBet couldn’t get a licence in Brazil and black listed in plenty of other places but that obviously doesn’t worry SIGA!

Part 3 of 4 of the special report @stevemenary.bsky.social and I have devoted to multi-club ownership for @playthegame-org.bsky.social. This time, how MCO networks are both so fluid and so opaque that they escape detection - and oversight. www.playthegame.org/news/water-t...

Is multi club ownership increasing football’s vulnerability to crime? Part 2 of an investigation into the problems posed by MCO by myself and @philippeauclair.bsky.social for @playthegame-org.bsky.social www.playthegame.org/news/the-hid... #MCO

AskGamblers have published their 2024 complaints review and the 4 biggest offenders are all major sponsors of sport, particularly football and cricket. Does sport read these things? Do they even care? @josimarfootball.bsky.social @cricketacademic.bsky.social

I’ve found 400 clubs tied up in multi club ownership, bound to be more, and multiple problems. The first in a four-part series for @playthegame-org.bsky.social by myself and @philippeauclair.bsky.social on why MCO is such a problem. #MCO www.playthegame.org/news/footbal...

In May 2024, Greenland applied to join Concacaf. After being ignored for months, a meeting was scheduled in Miami for Feb 27 then postponed and moved to London tomorrow. It’s now been postponed again. Hard not to believe wider factors at play

New. Football might unite the world, but there is little unity inside Fifa. Employees describe a toxic workplace, a culture of fear and even death threats. @samindrakunti.bsky.social josimarfootball.com/2025/03/17/c...