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Dafabet

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Dafabet
Available inMultilingual
Founded2004; 22 years ago (2004)
HeadquartersMakati, Philippines
Area servedAsia Pacific region / Europe
IndustryOnline gambling
ServicesOnline betting and gambling
Employees1000+
WebsiteOfficial website Edit this at Wikidata

Dafabet is an online betting and gambling site operated by AsianBGE. The company was founded in November 2004 and is headquartered in Makati, Philippines.

History

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Dafabet was founded in November 2004 under AsianBGE, a privately owned company licensed by the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA) and regulated by First Cagayan Leisure and Resorts (FCLRC).[1] It first operated in Asia and later entered the European market. The company holds a remote British licence through AsianBGE (Isle of Man) Limited, regulated by the Gambling Commission,[2] and is also licensed in Malta.[3]

Services

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Dafabet offers in-play betting on sports including the FIFA World Cup, Premier League, National Basketball Association, US Open and Ultimate Fighting Championship. Its casino, poker and slots games run on software supplied by Playtech.[citation needed]

Reception

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eGaming Review ranked Dafabet among its annual top 50 e-gaming operators, placing it 21st in 2013, 19th in 2014 and 23rd in 2015.[4]

Sponsorships

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Dafabet's brand ambassadors have included footballers Alan Shearer[5] and Steve McManaman,[6] and snooker player Jimmy White.[7]

Among British football clubs, Dafabet has sponsored Everton[8] and West Bromwich Albion (2012–2013),[9] Aston Villa F.C. (2013–2015),[10] Celtic (from 2016),[11][12] Burnley (2016–2017),[13] Blackburn Rovers (2016–2018), Sunderland (until 2017–2018),[14] Fulham (2018–2020),[15] Norwich City (from 2019–2020)[16] and AFC Bournemouth (from 2022–2023).[3][17][18] On several of these deals the brand appeared on the front of the shirt.

In snooker, Dafabet sponsored the Players Tour Championship 2012/2013 – Finals,[19] the 2014 World Snooker Championship[20] and the Masters from 2014 to 2020.[21][22] In 2015 it became the lead sponsor of the eSports team Fnatic.[23]

In cricket, Dafabet sponsored the English counties Durham and Sussex in 2020,[24] and in 2024 became official Team Associate Sponsor of Cricket South Africa's national teams under a three-year deal.[25][26][27] It also sponsored La Liga club Cádiz CF in 2020.[28] Dafabet is a sponsor of the Zimbabwe cricket team.[citation needed]

In July 2024, Dafabet became Brazilian club Guarani's main shirt sponsor, its first South American deal, but withdrew from Brazil three months later after failing to gain authorisation under the country's regulated betting regime.[29][30]

Regulation and criticism

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Dafabet's sponsorships have drawn scrutiny in markets where the operator is not locally licensed. Before Cricket South Africa's 2024 partnership was announced, a News24 investigation questioned why an unlicensed operator was sponsoring the national teams.[31] The governing body subsequently defended the arrangement by stating that South African residents cannot legally access the Dafabet platform, which is not licensed in the country.[32] A similar pattern occurred in Australia, where Dafabet sponsored Northern Territory Cricket's 2023 Top End T20 Series despite being unlicensed there; regulator ACMA was later criticised for coordinating its public response with NT Cricket instead of pursuing enforcement.[33] Elsewhere, an investigation found that "Dafanews", linked to Dafabet, sponsored Indian Super League clubs Punjab FC and Mumbai City FC while presenting itself as a news service to circumvent local betting-advertising restrictions.[34] In June 2026, Indian police arrested 11 people in Telangana over a multi-state network allegedly promoting Dafabet's platform, uncovering 46 mule bank accounts, shell companies and technical-support operations linked to complaints in several states.[1][35]

More broadly, betting brands such as Dafabet have featured in academic and policy debate over gambling marketing in sport. Studies of English football have documented how a single logo on a shirt front is repeatedly reproduced through televised coverage and through merchandise marketed to children, contributing to high levels of incidental exposure.[36][37] The prevalence of such sponsorship has been examined as an ethical question for British football.[38] In 2023, Premier League clubs voluntarily agreed to remove gambling sponsors from the front of matchday shirts from the 2025–26 season onward, a change taking effect for the 2026–27 season.[39][40]

References

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  1. 1 2 Conneller, Philip (3 June 2026). "India's Dafabet Probe Exposes Hidden Machinery of Illegal Gambling". Casino.org. Retrieved 28 July 2026.
  2. ↑ "Asian BGE (Isle of Man) Limited". Gambling Commission. Archived from the original on 26 June 2022.
  3. 1 2 Mulligan, Richard (27 June 2022). "Dafabet becomes Bournemouth's shirt sponsor". iGaming Business. Retrieved 20 July 2026.
  4. ↑ "The eGR Power 50 Database – a business intelligence tool for the online gambling industry". eGR Power 50. Archived from the original on 10 June 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
  5. ↑ "Newcastle legend gambles on ambassadorial status". SportsPro Media. 28 April 2011. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  6. ↑ "Former English Footballer Steve McManaman Joins Dafabet Brand Ambassadors". Dafabet News. 19 August 2016. Archived from the original on 22 August 2016. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  7. ↑ "Dafabet Announces Jimmy White's Continuation as Brand Ambassador in 2016". Dafabet News. 30 January 2016. Archived from the original on 23 August 2016. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  8. ↑ "Everton FC sign up Dafabet as international betting partner". The Liverpool Post. 23 August 2012. Archived from the original on 22 March 2014. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  9. ↑ "Dafabet signs Everton and WBA betting partnerships". EGR Magazine. 17 August 2012. Archived from the original on 7 November 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
  10. ↑ "Dafabet announced as official main club sponsor". Aston Villa FC. 11 June 2013. Archived from the original on 21 March 2023.
  11. ↑ "Celtic Agrees to Five-year Extension Deal With Dafabet". Daily Record. 3 August 2018.
  12. ↑ "Celtic FC extends front-of-shirt partnership with Dafabet". SBC News. 16 December 2024. Retrieved 28 July 2026.
  13. ↑ "Clarets announce record shirt sponsorship deal". Burnley Express. 15 June 2016. Archived from the original on 2 July 2016.
  14. ↑ "The wait is (almost) finally over - Sunderland to unveil new home strip & Sponsor on Monday". Roker Report. 5 July 2018.
  15. ↑ Friend, Nick (11 July 2018). "Dafabet Announces Partnership with Fulham FC". Sportpro Media.
  16. ↑ "City announce record breaking front of shirt partnership with Dafabet". Norwich City FC. 1 July 2019. Archived from the original on 1 July 2019.
  17. ↑ "Dafabet agrees Premier League sponsorship deal with AFC Bournemouth". Gaming Intelligence. 27 June 2022.
  18. ↑ Jones, Rory (27 June 2022). "Bournemouth mark Premier League return with Dafabet main sponsorship deal". SportsPro. Retrieved 20 July 2026.
  19. ↑ "Dafabet Sponsor PTC Grand Finals". Worldsnooker.com. Archived from the original on 7 March 2013. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
  20. ↑ "Dafabet to Sponsor World Championships". Inside Snooker. 19 March 2014. Archived from the original on 14 March 2016.
  21. ↑ "Dafabet sponsor snooker's Masters". Matchroom Sport.
  22. ↑ "Dafabet Sponsor The Masters Until 2017". World Snooker. 11 November 2014. Archived from the original on 22 February 2020. Retrieved 20 July 2026.
  23. ↑ "Dafabet ink partnership with pro eSports organization Fnatic". Calvin Ayre. 1 October 2015.
  24. ↑ "Dafabet furthers cricket sponsorships with two new deals". Insider Sports. 15 July 2020. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  25. ↑ "Dafabet sponsors South Africa's national cricket team". SBC News. 22 August 2024.
  26. ↑ "CSA signs Dafabet as national team shirt sponsor". SportBusiness. 2024.
  27. ↑ McLoughlin, Ciaran (22 August 2024). "Dafabet named CSA official Team Associate Sponsor". Gambling Insider. Retrieved 20 July 2026.
  28. ↑ "Dafabet Announces Deal with Cádiz CF". Marca. 10 August 2020.
  29. ↑ "Bookmaker Dafabet is the new main sponsor of Guarani". iGaming Brazil. 18 July 2024. Retrieved 28 July 2026.
  30. ↑ "Dafabet to cease operations in Brazil as of this Thursday". Games Magazine Brasil. 10 October 2024. Retrieved 28 July 2026.
  31. ↑ "Why is an unlicensed betting platform sponsoring SA's cricket teams?". News24. 11 November 2025. Retrieved 28 July 2026.
  32. ↑ "Cricket SA defends betting sponsorship: Locals can't use Dafabet". News24. 12 November 2025.
  33. ↑ Blakkarly, Jarni (8 January 2026). "Media regulator criticised for coordinating with cricket body on illegal gambling questions". CHOICE. Retrieved 28 July 2026.
  34. ↑ Auclair, Philippe (21 May 2025). "Play the Game reveals the extent of football's reliance on betting and crypto sponsorships". Play the Game. Retrieved 28 July 2026.
  35. ↑ Schuengel, Frank (4 June 2026). "Indian police arrest 11 in multi-state Dafabet betting network probe". "Firanlove". Asia Gambling Brief. Retrieved 28 July 2026.
  36. ↑ Djohari, Natalie; Weston, Gavin; Cassidy, Rebecca; Kulas-Reid, Ivana (3 October 2021). "The visibility of gambling sponsorship in football related products marketed directly to children". Soccer & Society. 22 (7): 769–777. doi:10.1080/14660970.2020.1860028. ISSN 1466-0970.
  37. ↑ Torrance, Jamie; Heath, Conor (22 December 2023). "Gambling, cryptocurrency, and financial trading app marketing in English Premier League football: A frequency analysis of in-game logos" (PDF). Journal of Behavioral Addictions. 12 (4): 972–982. doi:10.1556/2006.2023.00066. ISSN 2062-5871. PMC 10786225. PMID 38015231.
  38. ↑ "Gambling Sponsorship and Advertising in British Football: A Critical Account". Sport, Ethics and Philosophy. 14 (2). 2020. doi:10.1080/17511321.2019.1582558.
  39. ↑ "Premier League statement on gambling sponsorship". Premier League. 2023.
  40. ↑ "Premier League clubs agree to withdraw gambling sponsorships on front of shirts". Sky Sports. 2023.
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