Have you heard of the sportsbooks “DEBET” and “Net88”? Don’t worry if your answer is no, because most people haven’t, and that’s why questions are being raised of two Premier League clubs that have gone into business with them.
In recent days, established mid-table Premier League sides Wolverhampton Wanderers announced that DEBET would be the club’s front-of-shirt sponsor for the 2024/25 season, while Crystal Palace inked a deal with Net88.
The problem, however, is that both of these sportsbooks appear to allegedly be illegal Vietnamese entities, as they not only have virtually non-existent online presences but also may actually be owned by the same people.
After Wolves yesterday, that's two Premier League clubs in two days signing up with illegal Vietnamese gambling firms. https://t.co/OIblHI6vff
— Martin Calladine (@uglygame) June 12, 2024
The English language accounts for DEBET and Net88, for example, have less than 250 followers combined.
Some digging by football author Martin Calladine also found potential evidence that they are allegedly the same illegal betting operation, as trademarks for the two companies were filed on the same day: March 13.
Calladine also found that Net88, Palace’s new sponsor, has an alleged fake CEO using the identity of a dead TikToker and offers betting odds on cockfighting.
Congratulations to Crystal Palace's commercial team who signed a deal with an illegal Vietnamese betting firm whose founder "Phạm Minh Châu" bears a striking resemblance to a Vietnamese TikToker called "Đặng Ngọc Bích Tuyền" who passed away in 2023. pic.twitter.com/8PX0abOUW9
— Martin Calladine (@uglygame) June 12, 2024
“With previous illegal betting firms having been caught out using made up staff, Wolves’ partner used a freelance British PR consultant to give a quote. NET88, by contrast, seem not to have any named employees,” Calladine tweeted in an extensive thread reporting on the issue.
“These are not legitimate companies. Their services are by definition illegal. They are often connected to organized crime and horrendous human rights abuses. These firms often pirate sports broadcasts and, as Norwich found out a few years back and Palace are finding out now, advertise their wares with overtly sexual imagery.”
Given the numerous (115, to be exact) charges surrounding Manchester City relating to financial fair play, misreported revenues, questionable sponsorship deals, and so on, it’s shocking that the Premier League would allow something like this to happen if all of the alleged accusations made against DEBET and Net88 are true.
It’s strange, too, considering that the Premier League is arguably the world’s most popular sporting enterprise, meaning there are surely hundreds if not thousands of legitimate companies that would happily sponsor the likes of Wolves and Palace.
The post Crystal Palace Sign Sponsor Deal With Illegal Vietnam Sportsbook Claiming A Dead TikToker Is Its CEO, Wolves Also Ink Shady Bargain appeared first on BroBible.