The dark underbelly of women's cricket's growth.

A grim read - but an important one.

How offshore betting targets women's cricket A Play the Game investigation reveals gambling operators linked to pornographic content access live data from women’s cricket. This exposes such risks as match-fixing.

New investigation from @jackkerr.bsky.social and myself on how shady offshore betting operators linked to porn are exploiting women’s cricket for @playthegame-org.bsky.social
@cricketacademic.bsky.social

www.playthegame.org/news/from-po...

Gambling site promoted by Irish tipster uses ‘fraudulent licence’, says overseas central bank Rob Heneghan previously advised followers to ‘run and never look back’ if tipster ever promoted bookmaker

Gambling site promoted by Irish tipster uses ‘fraudulent licence’, says overseas central bank

www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2026...

Kherson are playing Zaporizhia, and the match is available for in-play bets because someone is collecting live data. Surely this is a problem?!

My name is “Smith”, “Alexander Smith” - josimarfootball.com How did a computer science academic and reality TV show contestant from Zagreb end up representing illegal sports-betting operator Z6 when it signed a sponsorship agreement with the Croatia national f...

"Alexander Smith" was the representative of illegal bookmaker Z6 when they signed a deal with the Croatian national team. But "Alexander Smith" does not exist. So who is this man? A (wild) joint investigation by @josimarfootball.bsky.social and @bellingcat.com.
josimarfootball.com/2026/04/01/m...

FIFA World Cup 2026: In Trump’s America, nothing can be ruled out While thousands of reporters prepare to cover the FIFA World Cup, concerns grow over the Trump administration’s crackdown on critics and foreigners. Nick Harris from Sporting Intelligence takes a clos...

FIFA World Cup 2026: In Trump’s America, nothing can be ruled out. A piece for @playthegame_org about this summer's tournament. www.playthegame.org/news/fifa-wo...

Cease and desist - josimarfootball.com Saudi Arabia wants a repeat of the Qatar World Cup - little or no accountability over its treatment of migrant workers. The Arab Kingdom is not shy to intimidate unions to get a current complaint at t...

Nine years out from the World Cup and Saudi Arabia is intimidating the unions to get a complaint at the ILO dropped.

My latest for @josimarfootball.bsky.social.

josimarfootball.com/2026/03/19/c...

Spillselskapsleken | Josimar

Når selskaper som hevder å beskytte fotballen mot kampfiksing er de samme som legger til rette for kampfiksing, blir hver kamp en varslet kampfiksingskatastrofe. Det kan også ramme Norge.

Kommentar og analyse av @stevemenary.bsky.social

josimar.no/artikler/spi...

Cuckoo in the nest? Part I - josimarfootball.com As the UK government considers introducing a blanket ban on advertising for unlicensed bookmakers in football, Newcastle United has become the latest Premier League club  to become the partner of myst...

New for @josimarfootball.bsky.social: part 1 of our investigation into 8Xbet, the new unlicensed betting partner of Newcastle United, who now sponsor *nine* English clubs - when the government is making noises about a full ban of unlicensed bookmakers. Really?

josimarfootball.com/2026/03/09/c...

Silent slaughter - josimarfootball.com Enough footballers were killed by the Iranian Islamist regime in the space of forty-eight hours in January to make up two full teams. Fifa’s response? Silence.

New for @josimarfootball.bsky.social. I wish to express thanks and my admiration to Zohreh Abdollahkhani, who found the courage and the strength to write this heart-rending piece, commissioned before Iran was attacked by the US and Israel.

josimarfootball.com/2026/03/05/s...

UCL Diversity Index 2025/26: new entrants at their lowest level in 14 years - Union of European Clubs - News Created by independent journalist Steve Menary, the UEC's UCL Diversity Index provides an overview of the state of competitive balance at the top of the European football pyramid

www.ueceurope.org/post/ucl-div...

Powerpoint slide with a tweet from illegal betting company Babu88, announcing their sponsorship of England's tour of Sri Lanka. Brook is pictured trying to ground his bat, with the betting sponsors visible on the advertising hoardings in the background.

Our final #CRN2026 panel is focused on Governance and Sustainability.

@stevemenary.bsky.social shares worrying findings about illegal betting sponsorship, which doubled between 2021 and 2025.

Harry Brook, Steve argues, is (inadvertently) helping to promote illegal betting in the screenshot below.

Thanks @philippeauclair.bsky.social ❤️ should point out it’s a joint piece with the marvellous @samindrakunti.bsky.social

A YouTube channel called VORA has posted a video which is a complete rip-off of the work @stevemenary.bsky.social has done on how illegal sports betting operators are using FIFA+ live football streaming. Pure theft. Zero credit. Just fishing for clicks at the expense of a proper journalist.

Thanks Rod, I was rather hoping it might have more impact 😬

Great piece by Steve. We are looking forward to his presentation on this topic at our conference in 2 weeks time. #CRN2026

EXPOSED: the rise of illegal and unregulated betting companies in international cricket What does a betting firm PR man have in common with a London lingerie model and a Malaysian punk singer? They have all been used as fronts for dodgy sports sponsors

EXPOSED: the rise of illegal and unregulated betting companies in international cricket
Brilliant piece by @stevemenary.bsky.social
sportingintelligence832.substack.com/p/exposed-th...

EXPOSED: the rise of illegal and unregulated betting companies in international cricket What does a betting firm PR man have in common with a London lingerie model and a Malaysian punk singer? They have all been used as fronts for dodgy sports sponsors

Why is England’s cricket team unwittingly being used to promote illegal betting? Time for a rethink on the rules? For @sportingintel.bsky.social more in person at the next @cricketacademic.bsky.social conference on Feb 26 open.substack.com/pub/sporting...

FC DAC 1904 On The Up In Slovakian Football | Steve Menary FC DAC 1904 On The Up In Slovakian Football | Steve Menary - Viktor Orban seeks to expand his sphere of influence past Hungary’s borders

www.worldsoccer.com/world-soccer...

Why investment funds could trigger football’s next crisis Firms that specialise in buying and selling companies are using complex offshore arrangements to channel insurance money into football clubs. This Bermuda Triangle strategy has already ended badly for...

Is football at the frontline of the next financial crisis? Private Equity firms are using complex offshore arrangements to channel insurance money into football. This Bermuda Triangle strategy ended badly for 777 Partners, but could be a preview of the future.

www.playthegame.org/news/investm...

Arctic Winter Games 2026 Join us for the Arctic Winter Games 2026, a culturally significant, community-driven sporting event that unites thousands of athletes from across the circumpolar North.

Next Arctic Winter Games at Whitehorse in March should be interesting as Greenland and Alaska both sending teams www.awg2026.org

REVEALED: FA targets low-hanging fruit for illegal betting as game drowns in gambling ads An investigation for Sporting Intelligence details the disproportionate number of betting charges against non-league players as the pro game embraces gambling

More than 200 non league players and staff charged by the FA for betting offences since 2015 - 3/4 of all charges. Why is the FA going after easy targets? On Substack for @sportingintel.bsky.social open.substack.com/pub/sporting...

Same old, same old - josimarfootball.com Correspondence between the Premier League and the British government suggests that, contrary to expectations, elite English football clubs will be allowed to pursue commercial relationships with illeg...

New for @josimarfootball.bsky.social. And depressing. Correspondence between the Premier League and the British government suggests that elite English football clubs will be allowed to pursue commercial relationships with illegal betting operators in the future.

josimarfootball.com/2026/01/13/s...

FIFA+ livestreams fuel global in-play betting markets New research from Play the Game shows how unlicensed betting companies are using FIFA’s own streaming platform to offer in-play wagers on low-level matches worldwide. Many smaller federations are unaw...

From Aruba and Mauritania to the Seychelles, FIFA is commercialising as many lower-level games as possible via FIFA+.

Stats Perform will be collecting the data for betting operators.

Here is more background. With @stevemenary.bsky.social.

www.playthegame.org/news/fifa-li...

FIFA+ livestreams fuel global in-play betting markets New research from Play the Game shows how unlicensed betting companies are using FIFA’s own streaming platform to offer in-play wagers on low-level matches worldwide. Many smaller federations are unaw...

www.playthegame.org/news/fifa-li...

There are now at least 444 clubs around in some form of multi club ownership www.linkedin.com/posts/steve-...

Without FIFA, no-one in those 150 countries would be capable of organising any football? That is one of the crassest things that fool has ever said

FIFA+ livestreams fuel global in-play betting markets New research from Play the Game shows how unlicensed betting companies are using FIFA’s own streaming platform to offer in-play wagers on low-level matches worldwide. Many smaller federations are unaw...

Before offering a game, bookies want a broadcast or livestream and access to live data. FIFA’s streaming service FIFA+ and its data company friends are doing this - without the clubs even knowing! With @samindrakunti.bsky.social for @playthegame-org.bsky.social www.playthegame.org/news/fifa-li...

UCL Diversity Index 2025/26: new entrants at their lowest level in 14 years - Union of European Clubs - News Created by independent journalist Steve Menary, the UEC's UCL Diversity Index provides an overview of the state of competitive balance at the top of the European football pyramid

www.ueceurope.org/post/ucl-div...

The Magnificent Anderson - josimarfootball.com Illegal betting operators routinely use actors to impersonate their owners and executives, but none of them has ever gone as far in this respect as AC Milan's brand new "official betting partner in As...

From the crazy world of illegal gambling, one of the craziest stories we at @josimarfootball.bsky.social have come across in our investigations (and that is saying something). Who is "William Anderson", "founder" of Milan's new Asian betting partner sureWin? josimarfootball.com/2025/12/15/t...