The parent company of betting firm Mr Q — Watford’s front-of-shirt sponsor — must pay £690,947 after being found by the UK Gambling Commission to have failed to protect individuals, including children, from being exploited by gambling and not meeting standards relating to anti-money laundering and terrorist financing.
Mr Q – based in Hertfordshire – became Watford’s main sponsor in June in a three-year deal worth in the region of £1million per season.
“The multi-year agreement represents a record-breaking deal for an EFL club,” said Watford at the time, while Mr Q highlighted the company does not “just adhere to regulations but that we go above and beyond the call of duty.”
An investigation by the UK’s gambling regulator found that Lindar Media Limited, which controls Mr Q, failed to comply with seven different areas — including combating problem gambling — between July 2021 and September 2022, which led to a review of the company’s practices.
