Everton to terminate sponsor deal? Stefan Borson drops verdict after controversy
Everton’s front-of-shirt sponsor Stake has hit the headlines after its been investigated for featuring in one of porn actress Bonnie Blue’s advertisements.
The BBC reported on 12 February the Australian online casino is giving up its license in Great Britain following the controversy.
The Gambling Commission said it will write to Everton to warn the club of their responsibilities to ensure that the unlicensed gambling websites promoted on shirts cannot be accessed from Great Britain.
The regulator is also writing to Nottingham Forest over their sponsorship with Kaiyun and Leicester City in regard to their deal with BC.Game as both sites are also unlicensed in the country.
Finance expert Stefan Borson exclusively told Football Insider he doesn’t expect Everton to cut ties with Stake over the issue as there are only a few months left to go in the season.
The Merseyside giants partnered with Stake in June 2022, with the deal believed to be worth in excess of £10million a year.
Everton to be more careful in future shirt deal talks
Borson suggested Everton could look to be more careful about who they partner with when they open talks about their next shirt deal.
He told Football Insider: “I think we’ve seen already that nobody’s particularly bothered from a commercial perspective.
“We have got a number of clubs that have sponsors that are not licensed in the UK. The Nottingham Forest front-of-shirt sponsor, who are also a commercial partner at Chelsea, are not licensed in the UK either.
“I think the way the Premier League clubs probably look at it is that they are setting themselves up to be a global franchise. I don’t like that word, but in this context, that is how they look at it.
“Therefore, it’s not really relevant whether it’s licensed in the UK. Not everything we advertise is available in every market.
“There may be some alcohol that might be advertised, but that’s not available in Saudi Arabia. They don’t have to be available in every possible market and this is an international media product.
“I’m not saying that’s right, I’m just saying that is probably how their commercial teams look at it and go ‘We are an international vehicle for brands. It’s not for us to say whether they’re licensed in any individual country. As long as they’ve passed money laundering tests and paid the actual fees, then we’re going to continue to run the advertising’.
“I suspect that’s what’s going to happen with Everton, certainly until the end of the season. Maybe on the next cycle, they will think more carefully about some of these sponsors.
“But I think it’s unlikely that people are going to start, for the last three or four months of the season, taking sponsors off shirts. I might be completely wrong and they may drop them, but I think it’s unlikely.”
Everton have landed financial blow after £183m reveal
Everton chiefs have been making efforts to increase their commercial revenue as they look to catch up on their Premier League rivals.
The Merseysiders are yet to release their official accounts for 2023-24, but their commercial revenue stood at £39million for 2022-23.
Deloitte’s 2025 Money League revealed the club’s overall turnover increased from £172million in 2022-23 to £183million last season.
Borson previously told Football Insider Everton will be disappointed by their 2023-24 revenue as they would have been expecting a better return.
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