Users of betting company Football Index could lose thousands of pounds after concerns were raised before its collapse

For many football fans, placing a little bet adds an extra dimension to the sporting spectacle. When one company set up what it described as a “virtual stock market for football”, the chance to make a quick buck attracted an estimated half a million people. Users are now concerned they’ll lose their money.

Football Index was a self-styled “stock market”. Users were able to buy and sell “shares” in footballers and make money through “dividend” payments based on players’ on-pitch performances and media activity.

After a series of policy changes, Football Index cut the “dividend” payments on players in March 2021, which led to a crash in the value of their “shares”, meaning any potential for profit had all but disappeared.

Six days later, the company entered administration, only a few hours before the Gambling Commission announced that it had suspended its licence. As a result, an estimated £90 million can no longer be accessed by users.

One of those users who can no longer access his money is Chris Windsor, who fears he’s lost around £4,000.

Speaking to S4C’s current affairs programme, Y Byd ar Bedwar, he said: “I feel frustrated, annoyed, and ashamed. It was a good platform when it worked, but the bubble burst. The company knew what it was doing for a long time - at the end of the day, they were messing around with other people’s money.” 

As well as using the platform to try to make money, Chris also ran an affiliate website which gave tips and advice to other Football Index users. He says he now regrets encouraging others to use the platform.

“I do feel guilty about encouraging people, especially friends and family," he said.

"But on my website, all I did was put information about Football Index together and present it in an easy-to-digest way. If I hadn't done it, another digital marketer would have.”

Chris, who’s 25 and from Welshpool, had hoped to put his Football Index money towards a year’s travel around the world, but has had to alter his plans.

“I obviously understand that it was gambling and that there was a risk to it, but it’s a bet that hasn’t ended - it’s still an open bet. My money’s just been taken off the table. It means it will be more work and less travel without that little treasure chest.”

What is Football Index?

• Described as a “football stock market”, Football Index was launched in 2015.

• Users were able to buy and sell "shares" in professional footballers to make money. They would also earn “dividends” based on players' performances and media coverage.

• The company soon became a prominent player on the UK betting scene. It began sponsoring two Championship clubs - Nottingham Forest and Queens Park Rangers - and made a gross profit of almost £27 million in 2020. It had an attracted an estimated 500,000 users according to Football Index.

Y Byd ar Bedwar’s investigation has found that concerns were raised about Football Index in a report that’s understood to have been sent to the Gambling Commission in January 2020. The document warned that the company’s business plan was unsustainable and claimed that Football Index had encouraged tens of thousands of people to gamble irresponsibly.

But the Gambling Commission didn’t start looking into Football Index until May 2020.

Yet shortly afterwards, Football Index made changes to its betting terms which meant it was on an unsustainable path, despite repeatedly telling its users it was in good financial health. The company’s licence wasn’t suspended by the Commission until March 2021.

Carolyn Harris MP chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Gambling Related Harm. She says the Gambling Commission should never have given Football Index a licence in the first place.

She said: “We had a situation where people were investing and reinvesting money speculatively. By the time this organisation went under, the Gambling Commission should already have closed it down and found a way to help and support those who’d been affected."

The Labour MP for Swansea East was one of more than 40 MPs and peers who signed a letter calling on the Prime Minister to launch an investigation into the collapse of Football Index and the role of the Gambling Commission. The UK Government has since announced an independent investigation will take place, but Carolyn Harris says it’s come too late.

“The inevitable has happened - the company’s collapsed," she said.

"We now find ourselves in a situation where people seem to have lost thousands and thousands of pounds. It should never have been allowed to happen.”

The Gambling Commission said it had granted an operating licence for BetIndex (the operator of Football Index) in 2015. However, it stated that Football Index had "evolved to be a product that was both novel and complex,"and that "aspects of the product appeared to fall outside the statutory definition of gambling and therefore our regulatory remit."

Documents published by Football Index as part of insolvency proceedings confirm that for months before its collapse, the company had been reliant on new deposits from users to cover liabilities on existing bets, and that it could never have been sustainable without a drastic reduction in payouts.

They also show Football Index paid £9m to its parent company for "support fees" last year, and spent almost a fifth of its revenue on marketing, including adverts on the London Underground and sponsorship of Queens Park Rangers and Nottingham Forest football clubs.

Football Index’s administrators are currently awaiting a High Court Judge’s decision on the distribution of £4.5 million which had been kept in the company’s Player Protection Fund. The administrators say their aim is to distribute the money among Football Index users. But for many, this repayment would only be a fraction of the money they’d originally invested on the platform.

And Chris Windsor isn’t holding out hope for his £4000 in full.

“I think it’s unlikely. I don’t know where the buck will lie, but I’m not too hopeful," he said.

They’ve taken advantage of regular people that they’ve heavily targeted with advertising. They’ve taken their money and it’s gone.”

In a statement to ITV, the sole director of Football Index says that due to the administration process it is not possible for him to address all the questions raised. He says they are devastated by what has happened, and that other than his salary and the repayment of a zero-interest loan, he has not received any payments from the company, and he and other shareholders have not received dividends. He says the £9 million sum was paid to a company called Index Labs Ltd where the bulk of technical costs were incurred. He says the directors and employees of BetIndex will co-operate fully with the administrators' investigation.

You can watch the full investigation on Y Byd ar Bedwar which is available on iPlayer, with English subtitles.