Chelsea May Decouple from Parimatch as White Paper Looms

No soccer club is keen to act preemptively, as a previously considered proposal to drop sponsorships between gambling firms and sports teams in the Premier League was deferred after it transpired that the White Paper reregulating the industry would be delayed.

Chelsea FC Considers Position in Parimatch Deal

Nevertheless, the Premier League may soon be looking to follow up on this decision as it comes off the backburner and becomes a front-and-centre topic once again. Parimatch, meanwhile, is facing some trouble in its native Ukraine where regulators banned it for a period of 50 years with a presidential decree, along with other companies.

Parimatch’s presence in the Premier League has been visible, though, and a rumored breakup with Chelsea would probably hurt both the soccer team and the company itself. But the link between Chelsea FC and Parimatch is not that clear, to begin with.

For one, Parimatch is said to have severed ties with the club back in March 2022, but The Daily Mail, a mostly sensationalist publication, has stipulated that the two entities still maintain some connection.

Chelsea in the meantime has responded to a request to The Daily Mail about whether the club was aware that Ukrainian regulators have targeted Parimatch. The club did not say much beyond that it was reviewing the situation.

Targeting Parimatch in Ukraine is almost bizarre, however, as the company has been a staunch supporter of the relief efforts in the country mounted to resist Russian invaders, and has even lost members of its team. Yet, Ukraine has been acting proactively. Authorities also targeted Sportradar LLC, a Russia-based copycat betting website which has hoped its similarity to Sportradar AG, a Swiss sports and tech company, would shield it from immediate regulatory action – it had not.

Regardless, authorities have considered it to be one of the 280 companies and 120 people that were banned. Meanwhile, Parimatch also reportedly maintains positions with Aston Villa, Newcastle, and Leicester. Those could also be coming under threat.

In the meantime, a final draft of the White Paper which would change the country’s gambling laws in the United Kingdom is finally expected to arrive this month.