- Charities are raising funds by working with a sports betting firm that says it donates a proportion, undisclosed, of its profits to good causes. Not only are the charities encouraging gambling on sports. But it’s in the charities’ best interest for punters to lose – betting operators only make money when their customers lose.
- Scottish football legend Sir Kenny Dalglish is ambassador for FansBet, whose partner charities include the Marina Dalglish Appeal, a cancer charity where Sir Kenny and wife Marina are founding trustees (screen shot in Figure 1).

- Upon opening a FansBet account, a bettor selects the charity he or she wants to support (screen shot in Figure 2).

- It is unclear how much of the profits made by FansBet actually reaches the charities: the operator simply says it is “a percentage” (screen shot in Figure 3). This is not good enough. Here there should be transparency.

- On 27 January 2021, FansBet announced Sir Kenny’s appointment as ambassador, a role for which he is presumably paid (screen shot in Figure 4). What a pity Sir Kenny has chosen to promote a betting operator – and one so opaque.

- Meanwhile, the latest accounts for the Marina Dalglish Appeal, made up to 31 July 2021, fail to mention the tie-up between the charity and FansBet. What’s more, the gambling firm isn’t identified as a related party – and nor are the relevant related-party transactions (the alleged donations) disclosed, either. Perhaps the Marina Dalglish Appeal only started working with the betting operator after 31 July 2021.
- The latest accounts for the Marina Dalglish Appeal show the trustees are unpaid, as is the case for most charities. However, if Sir Kenny is paid to be FansBet ambassador, he is receiving personal benefit from a related party that is fundraising for his charity.
- It is important to be clear what is going on here. The charities are directly involved in the business model of FansBet. The arrangement differs from a gambling firm making donations to independent charities after the event, without involving the recipient charities in the business model.
- One consequence is that the charities are permitting FansBet to use their brands to promote gambling on sports. Yes, betting is legal – but it risks addiction and other harms. Do charities really want to be associated with gambling harms? And should charities really want punters to lose money as well?
- In fact, the direct involvement of charities in the business model could increase the risk of problem gambling. Punters might be less concerned about their losses than they should be, reassuring themselves that their unsuccessful betting is at least contributing to their chosen charity.
- FansBet and the Marina Dalglish Appeal didn’t respond to requests for comment. Among other questions, I asked both organisations in emails whether Sir Kenny is paid to be FansBet ambassador.