Stake.com, the online casino that sponsors Everton Football Club, is to give up its licence to operate in Great Britain, amid a regulatory review of the company’s practices, including a promotion fronted by a porn actor.

The Gambling Commission began an investigation in response to the appearance on the social media platform X of a video featuring the adult star Bonnie Blue, featuring Stake’s branding.

In the video, Bonnie Blue boasted of a stunt in which she tried to have sex with “barely legal 18-year-olds” in their first year at Nottingham Trent University.

Stake’s branding has also appeared on other viral videos on social media, including some featuring violence and other graphic images.

The Guardian has previously revealed controversial practices by Australia-based Stake, including a promotion in which it offered a $10 “free” bet to anyone who wagered $5,000 in a week.

The revelation led to Everton telling the brand not to use club imagery as part of the promotion.

A subsequent investigation by the Observer in 2022 uncovered concerns about the ease with which British customers were apparently able to bet with cryptocurrency on the site, even though it was not permitted to offer this service in Great Britain.

At the time, the company said it had rigorous anti money laundering and safer gambling processes in place, and that it had shut down customers trying to gamble with cryptocurrency in the UK and bypassing controls by using “virtual private networks” (VPNs).

Stake’s UK website, which does not offer crypto gambling, is run under licence by an Isle of Man-based company, TGP Europe, through a “white label” agreement.

Deals such as this are frequently used by international gambling firms that want to launch in the UK without having to invest large sums in development and infrastructure. They also allow such firms to advertise on the front of Premier League football clubs’ shirts.

The Gambling Commission said on Wednesday that Stake “will no longer be a licensed website” by 11 March after TGP “stated they would be shutting the site”.

The statement added: “The commission will be writing to Everton – along with two other football clubs with unlicensed sponsors – warning of the risks of promoting unlawful gambling websites.”

Everton has no plans to replace Stake as a main shirt sponsor, the BBC reported.

The commission said the letter would warn that “club officers may be liable to prosecution and, if convicted, face a fine, imprisonment or both if they promoted unlicensed gambling businesses that transact with consumers in Great Britain”.

Bonnie Blue – whose real name is Tia Billinger – last month attempted to break the “world record” for having the most amount of sex in 12 hours. There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing on her part.

The ad was posted by an account claiming to be affiliated with Stake rather than an official account for the company and has now been deleted.

It is not clear whether Bonnie Blue was involved in its creation, or whether the account that posted it simply repurposed a video from elsewhere.

Will Prochaska, director of the Coalition to End Gambling Ads, which first complained to the Gambling Commission about the advert, said: “Forcing Stake out of the UK market is important, but will do little to change a system that enables predatory gambling marketing, sometimes by firms that haven’t even applied for their own gambling licence.

“We need regulators that will put the nation’s health ahead of gambling industry profits.”

The commission also wrote to Nottingham Forest and Leicester, which also have sponsorship from gambling sites which are unlicensed in Great Britain.

Forest are sponsored by the Asia-based Kaiyun.com. Leicester’s sponsor, BC.Game, a casino, sportsbook and lotto operator which allows customers to gamble using cryptocurrencies, was declared bankrupt by a court in Curaçao in November 2024.

The club subsequently decided it would not seek a new shirt sponsor after assurances from BC.Game that it could “fulfil its contractual obligations”.

The Guardian has approached Stake.com for comment.