Pietersen's Dafabet ambassador role draws ECB scrutiny
The England mentor's new brand deal with Dafabet has been flagged to the ECB, reviving questions about gambling sponsorships in cricket.
Kevin Pietersen, the former England batsman now serving as a specialist mentor to the national side, has become a global brand ambassador for the bookmaker Dafabet, SBC News reported.
Pietersen announced the partnership on his X account on Monday, writing: "I'm proud to join Dafabet as their global ambassador. Dafabet is also about passion, energy and bringing people closer to the game we love, and that is something I'm excited to be a part of."
He added: "I'm looking forward to this journey and creating something very special together, and sharing plenty of exciting moments with you all. This is just the beginning."
The deal has been brought to the attention of the England and Wales Cricket Board, according to SBC News, with Pietersen reported to have assured the governing body he will not promote Dafabet while on England duty.
The arrangement arrives a year after the ECB introduced a voluntary code of conduct for betting sponsorship in English professional cricket, built around four pillars: protecting the integrity of the sport, safeguarding vulnerable audiences, reinvestment into cricket and socially responsible coverage of betting.
No rule bars Pietersen from acting as an ambassador for the Philippine-headquartered operator, but SBC News noted that such contracts are typically subject to the Advertising Standards Authority's age-appeal guidelines, ECB image rights approval and anti-corruption compliance checks designed to rule out any crossover into match integrity.
Pietersen is not the first England coaching figure to face this dilemma. Brendon McCullum, now England's white ball head coach, ended his ambassador deal with the Curacao-licensed operator 22bet in April 2023, only three months after signing, despite the arrangement having been cleared by an ECB investigation.
SBC News drew a parallel between 22bet and Dafabet, noting both operators are reported to be active in markets where they hold no licence. Citing the Blask Index, the outlet said Dafabet has a sizable presence in India, Kuwait and Thailand, all countries where betting on cricket is illegal. Dafabet does hold a UK licence.
Cricket has previously been shaken by gambling-linked scandals, including the 2010 spot-fixing case involving Pakistan bowlers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif, who deliberately bowled no balls during a tour of England, and the ban handed to current England bowler Brydon Carse over 303 bets placed on cricket matches between 2017 and 2019.
Dafabet is a familiar presence in the sport and in British football. It is the current front-of-shirt sponsor for Celtic and has previously held similar deals with AFC Bournemouth, Aston Villa, Blackburn, Fulham, Sunderland, Norwich and Burnley. In cricket, its sponsorships have included South Africa's men's and women's national teams, Cricket West Indies, and English county clubs Middlesex, Durham and Sussex.
SBC News suggested Pietersen could yet follow McCullum's path if the scrutiny attached to the deal proves more trouble than it is worth. For now, he remains Dafabet's global brand ambassador.