Banned, but not Gone: The Rise of 8xBet in English Football after 1xBet lost its UK licence

Despite regulatory action forcing 1xBet out of the UK, a similarly branded betting company has rapidly expanded across English football. With unclear ownership, limited corporate transparency and growing scrutiny, 8xBet’s rise raises questions about how gambling enforcement really works in the game.

When 1xBet lost its UK licence in 2019 following a series of regulatory breaches, it appeared to mark the end of the Russia-founded bookmaker’s presence in English football. The company, whose founders have faced criminal investigations, was effectively removed from one of the world’s most tightly regulated gambling markets.

But its disappearance did not leave a void.

Instead, a similarly branded company — 8xBet — has emerged across English football, rapidly expanding its sponsorship footprint in the Premier League and beyond. Since signing its first major partnership with Manchester City in 2022, the brand has gone on to secure deals with clubs including Chelsea, Leicester City, Ipswich Town, Bournemouth, Newcastle United and Sunderland.

Despite mounting scrutiny, 8xBet’s presence in English football has continued to expand. Since signing its first major partnership with Manchester City in 2022, the company has been the subject of multiple investigations by Josimar and other outlets.

One such report noted that the operator had withdrawn from the UK market while simultaneously increasing its visibility across Premier League clubs. Rather than retreating, the brand’s sponsorship portfolio has grown, at one stage covering a significant proportion of top-flight teams.

This apparent contradiction — a company exiting a regulated market while expanding its presence within its most visible sporting platform — raises further questions about how such partnerships are structured and what they are ultimately designed to achieve.

Reporting by the Mail on Sunday, later cited by multiple industry outlets, raised additional concerns about the partnership, including the use of a model to represent the company in promotional material and inconsistencies in its corporate presentation.

The company’s visibility is particularly striking given how little is known about it. A search for corporate information on the UK Gambling Commission website returns a simple note: “Information withheld.” Requests relating to ownership and internal communications have produced similar outcomes, with the regulator declining to disclose key details.

Questions about the company’s leadership deepen the ambiguity. Promotional material identifies a founder and chief executive, Ryan Li, yet attempts by journalists to verify his identity have produced little conclusive evidence. Investigations have pointed to inconsistencies in corporate claims, unverifiable profiles and the use of stock or recycled imagery in executive representation.

Further scrutiny has extended to the company’s marketing activity. A Mail on Sunday investigation highlighted anomalies in 8xBet’s partnership with Manchester City, including promotional material in which individuals presented as company representatives were later identified as actors or models.

None of this establishes wrongdoing. But it contributes to a broader pattern of opacity surrounding a company that has rapidly embedded itself in one of the most visible commercial platforms in global sport.

The parallels with 1xBet are difficult to ignore.

The original operator, banned from the UK market, continues to maintain a global presence through sponsorships with clubs such as Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, as well as competitions including Serie A and Africa Cup of Nations. Investigations into its operations have previously highlighted the scale of its network, with numerous affiliated sites and structures operating across jurisdictions.

At the same time, a new brand — with a near-identical naming structure, similar visual identity and limited transparency — has established itself within English football.

The resemblance is not subtle. Both brands use blue-and-white colour schemes and a stylised “X” at the centre of their logos. 1xBet ditched the stylized “X” by renewing its logo. Their websites follow comparable design logic and layout. None of this proves a direct connection. But it does not require specialist expertise to recognise that the branding appears designed to evoke familiarity.

Placed side by side, the trajectory is striking. One operator is removed from a regulated market following enforcement action. Another, with a similar name and unclear ownership, emerges in the same ecosystem, securing visibility through Premier League partnerships.

The question this raises is not whether the two companies are formally linked. It is whether the system allows such continuity — in presence, if not in name.

English football remains one of the most powerful advertising platforms in the world. Sponsorship deals extend far beyond domestic audiences, reaching global markets through broadcasts and digital overlays. Offshore operators have been able to use this reach to maintain visibility, even when they do not operate legally within the UK.

In that context, removal from a national market does not necessarily mean disappearance. It may simply mean adaptation.

And in the case of 8xBet, that adaptation is happening in plain sight.