Many European football clubs have contracts with Asian sports betting providers. These providers often operate illegally. And they are involved in organized crimes. The Bundesliga is also affected.
K8 is one of the sponsors of Atletico Madrid. The old stars Yaya Touré and Wesley Sneijder Advertise for K8. And a few years ago, FC Schalke 04 was among the contractual partners of the online casino.
K8 recently got into the headlines: On March 19, 2025, Filipino authorities stormed an office space in Manila. In the police report, which is available to the Legion Podcast team, 116 foreign citizens are caught in the raid in the raid. They are accused of illegal gambling. In addition, the authorities found seven Japanese citizens who are presumably victims of human trafficking. The page for which they worked was still open on some of the seized computers: K8.io.
Also users from Germany
K8.IO has a lucky license in CuraçaoBut not in the Philippines. There is also no European gambling license. However, the report shows that the users of the website come from anywhere. They live in Thailand or China – where gambling outside of state lotteries is prohibited. And they come from France, Spain or Germany. The use of such providers is illegal for citizens of these countries.
The investigators also ensured devices that used to send mass SMS and therefore often for Scams be abused. It is evidence of the close connection between online gambling in the Southeast Asian area and illegal practices such as scams, but also money laundering.
K8 was a long sponsor of Schalke 04
Between 2017 and 2021, the gambling and betting provider K8 was the official sponsor of the German Second League Association FC Schalke 04. On our request, the association confirms: “It was a classic advertising partnership: the association received money to provide different advertising and marketing services.” However, the association cannot provide more detailed information about the partnership because none of those responsible for the decision at that time are still active for the association: “Of course we are convinced that all decisions were made under the right then.” In 2021 Schalke ended the collaboration.
FC Schalke 04 is not the only European football club that has or had advertising partnerships with Asian sports and gambling providers. Especially in the Premier League Asian sports betting providers appear regularly as sponsors.
Connection to organized crime
These sports betting providers mostly act illegally – ARD research recently shown that. The research in the “Legion” podcast also has a connection to organized crimes. Providers such as Kaiyun (Bayer Leverkusen), Ayx (Borussia Mönchengladbach) or Xing Kong (Augsburg and Borussia Dortmund) still close advertisingdeal with the companies behind these illegal betting providers.
The companies with which many of them have contracts often sit in the Philippines. On the one hand there is the Tianyu company Technology Inc. – With this company, FC Bayern Munich held an advertising partnership until 2021. On the other hand, there is Boe United Technology Corporation. This company holds the trademark rights to the betting providers Ayx and Kaiyun. Both companies were withdrawn from gambling license in the Philippines.
Advertising partnerships sometimes continue to exist
Kaiyun and Ayx also had a license in Great Britain. But this also has also no longer applies since May 15, 2025. Kaiyun and Ayx had acquired the license through a third -party company: TGP Europe. According to the UNODC, TGP Europe is related to the organized crime in Southeast Asia. After the responsible supervisory authority had taken investigations for money laundering and expressed a high punishment, TGP Europe resigned all licenses.
Nevertheless, the advertising partnerships of Bayer 04 Leverkusen (with Kaiyun) and Borussia Mönchengladbach (with AYX) continue. Both clubs did not want to comment on the facts on request. In the Podcast “Legion – House of Scam“When it comes to the background of the SCAM factories, the people who have to work there – and to the connections to European football clubs. A documentary podcast in six episodes – in the ARD Audiothek and wherever there are podcasts.