Members of the U.K. Parliament are calling for an investigation into potential links between a Chinese billionaire with ties to triad gangs and a tech company working with Premier League clubs and Asian betting partners.
On January 18, Chinese courts sentenced 48-year-old billionaire Alvin Chau to 18 years in prison in Macau after finding him guilty of more than 100 charges relating to organized crime and illegal gambling activity to the tune of £85.7 billion (US$106.2 billion).
An investigation discovered links between Chau and TGP, an Isle of Man-based firm which runs betting brand websites and provides them with U.K. betting licenses. TGP does business with eight Asian betting brands who have partnerships with 10 Premier League soccer clubs.
Nothing indicates the clubs or brands had knowledge of links between Chau and TGP.
According to the Daily Mail, its investigation raises serious questions about the situations where clubs receive millions from such betting sponsors.
The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Gambling Harm promised to launch an inquiry if the Premier League and the U.K. Gambling Commission (UKGC) don’t respond to questions about the apparent leaks.
The APPG is concerned not only about the Chau jailing in Macau, but also about the possible charges he faces in Australia.
“The APPG would call on the Gambling Commission, the Premier League, the clubs and also TGP itself to explain the nature of these links and if we are not satisfied with the explanation, we will be holding an inquiry,” said Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the APPG vice-chair.
Asian betting brands often take out ads in Chinese, as Premier League games have a world-wide following. There are concerns that these ads are aimed at China itself where gambling is illegal outside of Macau.
Smith added: “What kind of message does this send to people in the U.K., including supporters of all ages, about gambling?”
TGP, whose ownership is difficult to discern, provides licenses and website services for: Arsenal and Southampton’s betting partner Sportsbet.io; for Aston Villa’s partners BK8 and Kaiyun Sports; and for Manchester City’s Asian betting partner, 8xBet. They are also tied to Tottenham, Newcastle and Leeds.
The UKGC insists they do their due diligence even though they lack the power to force companies to reveal the beneficial owners behind trusts.
In 2013, evidence emerged of a link to Chau’s SunCity empire. Links point to SunCity—including Chau—as controlling Xela and TGP, with little scrutiny. Chau established SunCity in 2007 to attract high rollers to casinos in Macau.
But in February 2021, Australian judge Patricia Bergin wrote a report in which she alleged that she found links between Chau, SunCity and organized crime. In November 2021, the Chinese arrested Chau in Macau, charging him with developing a cross-border criminal group and overseeing gambling operations illegally targeting Chinese gamblers.
At any rate, Chau’s conviction doesn’t look good for TGP, its brands, the UKGC and the Premier League clubs that welcomed his sponsorship deals.
In private conversations, Premier League clubs admitted a link between TGP and Chau would be troubling.
Clubs admitted they did not expand due diligence to other companies their partners work with, such as TGP. The UKGC wouldn’t say whether they had any open investigation into TGP’s ownership.
However, Smith believes that there must be further investigation into the links between football and gambling.
“It is clear that the Premier League clubs need to come clean on whether they know who the beneficial owners are of these Asian facing brands, whether the clubs have done full due diligence, and whether, ultimately, they know where the tens of millions of pounds that pour into their coffers comes from,” he said.
