West Ham to cut ties with sponsor Betway over their role in Lucas Paqueta's alleged betting breaches

In August of last year, Paqueta was suspended by the FA over alleged betting breaches during his time with West Ham. The Brazilian was accused of deliberately getting booked in four Premier League games against Leicester in 2022, and Aston Villa, Leeds and Bournemouth in 2023 in order to make money for friends. Since then it has been claimed that Paqueta could receive a lifetime ban for his breaches.

The Brazilian star was charged with spot-fixing after Betway, West Ham's main shirt sponsor, raised the alarm over the amount of bets placed on Paqueta to be booked in West Ham games last season, according to The Sun. As per the report, the Hammers are unhappy with the online gambling company as they did not report the issue to the club and instead directly reported the suspicious bets to integrity investigators. This may cause the club to break ties with Betway after the end of their current £10 million-a-year contract.

A new government restriction on gambling-related front-of-shirt advertising that takes effect that summer means that West Ham already looking at other options for the 2026–2027 campaign. Sleeve sponsorship deals with gambling companies will still be permitted, but West Ham are unlikely to explore Betway for that arrangement. The club insists, nevertheless, that the Paqueta case has nothing to do with their decision to move on from the gambling company.

As per an earlier report by The Sun, West Ham are considering taking the FA to court over the potential decision to hand Paqueta a lifetime ban from footballing activities. The club are considering taking the FA to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne to contest the FA's jurisdiction to ban Paqueta for life.