Here’s how I have done it. I used the CustomProvider option rather than the WmsLayer option, and I notice that the URL I am using is different. But this is the one we are licensed for; perhaps yours is different, and you may need to modify this accordingly.
Regards.
Jerry.
Dim ID As Integer = tkTileProvider.ProviderCustom
' add custom provider definition
AxMap1.Tiles.Providers.Add(ID, "ESRI",
"https://services.arcgisonline.com/arcgis/rest/services/World_Imagery/MapServer/tile/{zoom}/{y}/{x}",
tkTileProjection.SphericalMercator, 0, 19,
"Esri, DigitalGlobe, GeoEye, i-cubed, USDA FSA, USGS, AEX, Getmapping, Aerogrid, IGN, IGP, swisstopo, and the GIS User Community")
' set custom provider
AxMap1.Tiles.ProviderId = ID
AxMap1.Redraw3(tkRedrawType.RedrawSkipAllLayers, True)