Aston Villa and Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez is under scrutiny from the Football Association (FA) over his commercial relationship with Bplay, an Argentinian online betting platform.
Martinez has served as a brand ambassador for Bplay since June 2024, when the company introduced him as such. In October 2025, the operator launched a follow-up campaign featuring Martinez alongside his brother Alejandro, a professional motorsport driver. The campaign was built around the idea of sport as a unifying force across disciplines.
The regulatory question stems from the scope of the FA's betting promotion rules. The FA rulebook states that an individual participant, when acting in a personal capacity, must not advertise or promote betting activity prohibited under its regulations.
Bplay offers odds on the Premier League, FA Cup and UEFA Europa League, all competitions in which Aston Villa is competing this season, potentially bringing the ambassador deal within the FA's regulatory scope.
The company has also used Martinez's image across social media campaigns alongside other Argentinian sports figures, including Ángel Di María.
The situation recalls a precedent from 2019, when Everton defender Yerry Mina was fined £10,000 ($12,800) after appearing in a television advertisement in Colombia for betting company Betjuego while playing in the Premier League. The case established how the FA approaches overseas betting promotions involving players registered in England.
The Martinez investigation also highlights one of English football's structural contradictions: while individual players are banned from promoting betting operators, Aston Villa itself carries a gambling sponsor on the front of its shirt.
Premier League clubs have agreed to remove front-of-shirt gambling sponsors starting from the 2026-27 season, but the distinction between club-level and player-level commercial rights remains a source of regulatory tension in the meantime.
Under FA rules, a betting company does not need to be licensed or operating in England for a promotion to potentially constitute a breach; offering markets on English competitions may be sufficient. As player-led endorsement deals become more common in emerging markets, the compliance risks associated with those partnerships are likely to grow.
Bplay is the official sponsor of Argentina's professional football league, and its campaigns have featured Martinez alongside other high-profile Argentinian athletes
