Gambling Related Harm group call for public inquiry into Football Index collapse

Regulation

MPs have written to the UK government calling for a public inquiry into Football Index’s £90m collapse.

In their letter, the MPs from the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Gambling Related Harm estimate that Football Index punters have lost £3,000 each on average.

“This can only be termed a scandal,” said chair Carolyn Harris. “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.”

There are now multiple calls for an inquiry into the running of the firm and questions about the role of regulators who were supposed to protect customers. In the end, they only moved to strip the company of its gambling licence after it had gone into administration.

Law firm Leigh Day said it was exploring the possibility of legal action on behalf of any customers who have lost money.

Leigh Day partner Nichola Marshall told the Guardian: “Whilst it is very early days in our investigations on behalf of the thousands of people who have lost money, there are serious questions which will need answering regarding what has happened at Football Index and what the Gambling Commission understood of Football Index’s activities.”

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