The director of the British anti-gambling campaign group Clean Up Gambling, Matt Zarb Cousin, has called for Government action against Football Index after hearing multiple stories from customers who lost massive amounts of money as a result of the gambling operator’s collapse earlier this month.
Mr Zarb-Cousin told JOE that the company’s crash had devastated tens of thousands of lives, with the losses accounting for hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Surprisingly, on March 5th, Football Index made an announcement of a significant reduction in the payouts of its dividends – a move that triggered panic across its customer base and resulted in a sharp drop of the company’s share price, as the worried customers rushed to withdraw any remaining funds they had in their accounts. About a week later, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) revealed it decided to suspend the operating licence of Football Index.
According to Mr Zarb-Cousin, the collapse of the gambling operator was inevitable. He further noted that the UKGC was warned about potential problems with the viability and sustainability of Football Index at the beginning of 2020 and it took the regulator almost half a year to start an investigation into the operator.
Currently, Clean Up Gambling is now working in collaboration with the law firm Leigh Day and a customer group called FI Group Action to investigate potential legal claims on behalf of the individuals who spent money on Football Index. So far, more than 7,000 people had already said they were interested to take part in the investigation.
Anti-Gambling Campaigners Say UKGC Is Also to Be Blamed
According to the director of Clean Up Gambling group, the collapse happened because the company had not been sustainable and had not run its product well. Mr Zarb-Cousin further noted that when it comes to gambling, people should be gambling on an event rather than on the viability of the product they are using to gamble.
He also criticised the company for not promoting its platform as a conventional gambling product but as an alternative to an investment platform, which had actually been misleading to some customers.
The main objective of the investigation that would be held by the campaigner group is seeking moneyary compensation for customers who were affected by the collapse of Football Index. However, Mr Zarb-Cousin also said he hopes that the action will encourage the UK Government to intervene and take some action against the gambling platform.
As mentioned above, the director of Clean Up Gambling believes that the UK gambling regulatory body also needs to take some of the blame for the operator’s failures. That is why he is insisting on further action by the UKGC with the support of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), which is supposed to oversee the regulator. Zarb-Cousin believes that the Government needs to find a way of getting to the truth and find out what had really happened and make everything possible to prevent history from repeating itself.
The calls of Clean Up Gambling for the Government to get involved in the investigation into the operations of Football Index and the company’s failures that led to its collapse come at a time when the lawmakers are conducting a massive review of the country’s gambling legislation. The campaigners group’s calls have also put under question the DCMS’ suitability to remain involved in the Gambling Act review.
- Author
Daniel Williams
