Gambling Related Harm APPG demands public inquiry after Football Index “scandal”

A cross-party MP group has written to the government demanding a public inquiry into the demise of Football Index. In a letter addressed to UK Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden, the Gambling Related Harm All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) railed against the owners of Football Index as well as the Gambling Commission (UKGC). The group criticised the “alarming” actions of Football Index owners in ‘minting’ new shares in footballers just days before the business collapsed into administration. “This can only be termed a scandal,” wrote the APPG. “It underlines the need for wholesale reform of the gambling industry and raises significant questions of the Gambling Commission, given they saw fit to licence this platform and failed to enact adequate oversight. “In a regulated sector, when people gamble, they should have the confidence they are doing so on the basis of the outcome of a wager. It should not be a gamble on the solvency or sustainability of the licensed operator. “We are therefore calling on you to hold an urgent public inquiry into the events which allowed this to happen as well as the conduct and competence of the Gambling Commission,” the letter added. The MPs said the collapse of Football Index underlined the need for a gambling ombudsman to ensure that players have a clear avenue for redress in similar circumstances. BetIndex, the company behind Football Index, officially went into administration on Monday, with the UKGC later suspending the firm’s licence. Championship sides Nottingham Forest and Queens Park Rangers have terminated existing sponsorship deals, while standards body the BGC has also cancelled Football Index’s membership.