Reportedly, an independent probe is to be rolled out after British gamblers lost a staggering amount of £100 million in what has been referred to as the largest gambling firm scandal in the entire history of the UK gambling industry. The massive losses of British football fans were generated after Football Index fell into administration, with questions regarding the way it was regulated also emerging.
As The Times reported, some Members of Parliament are “deeply concerned” at the failure of the gambling company that used to promote itself not as a gambling firm but as a football stock market. Ministers are also willing to establish a special investigation into the circumstances that led to Football Index’s fall into insolvency.
As revealed by a source close to the Government, the case has highlighted the further need for a thorough and in-depth review of the country’s gambling legislation.
The independent probe that the Ministers are willing to hold into Football Index is expected to not only provide more details about the situation the gambling company fell into but also to show whether the Government needs to make changes to the UK gambling laws in order to make sure local people are well protected. Members of Parliament have also shared that if any changes in regulation are necessary, they were ready to do whatever it takes to protect people.
UKGC and Jersey’s Gambling Regulator Suspend Football Index’s Operating Licence
As Casino Guardian already reported, the gambling company started operation in 2015 and soon become a major player in the British sports betting sector, as well as a sponsor of Nottingham Forest and Queens Park Rangers football teams, which have removed its branding ever since the scandal. The customers of Football Index were given the chance to buy and sell “shares” in professional football players, earning certain dividend payments, which depended on the performance of the players.
The company’s problems with authorities and regulators started after the company had become unable to make the dividend payments when customers tried to dispose of their positions. As previously revealed, some customers who have lost considerable amounts of money are currently preparing a class-action lawsuit against the struggling online gambling platform that has also said goodbye to its operating licence in the UK.
Football Index went into administration in March, with its operations being suspended after a large number of players face massive losses, some of which amounted to tens of thousands of pounds.
Since the problems with Football Index, which has been trading as BetIndex, began, questions are being asked over how the gambling operator that had some of the best-known names in the gambling industry as its board members – such as Brian Mattingley and Mark Blandford – could have collapsed.
As previously reported by Casino Guardian, the gambling regulatory bodies in both the UK and Jersey have suspended the operating licence of the company as a result of an investigation into the potential claim on behalf of customers is being held by the law firm Leigh Day.
- Author
Olivia Cole
