Football Index Collapse: Lessons Learned

Patricia Gibson Excerpts

Wednesday 24th April 2024 Westminster Hall

[Patricia Gibson (North Ayrshire and Arran) (SNP)]

I am pleased to participate in this debate. Like others who have spoken before me, I congratulate the hon. Member for Blaydon (Liz Twist) on bringing it forward. It is important that we learn lessons and remember the mistakes made during the collapse of the online gambling product, Football Index. I also pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Inverclyde (Ronnie Cowan), who has done a huge amount of work on this issue and in the wider gambling context generally.

I remember well when Football Index collapsed in 2021. I remember a number of constituents contacting me in despair, some having lost significant sums of money in what they believed was an investment because it had been marketed as such. It was deliberately marketed to look like a football stock market where customers could invest in players, collect dividends based on performance and sell their shares in a player at a profit if they did well. However, when operations were suspended, customers lost more than £90 million in open bets, or in other words, investments in players.

What became clear is that Football Index was akin to a pyramid scheme, operating unsustainably until its collapse by paying customers dividends using new customers’ investments. That collapse represents the biggest collapse of a gambling product in the UK. However, relatively speaking, it has not attracted the attention that it ought to have done. We know that the Gambling Commission had been warned some 14 months prior to the collapse that the platform was an

“exceptionally dangerous pyramid scheme under the guise of a ‘football stock market’”.

Its business model was fundamentally flawed and spiralled out of control.

As we have heard, the issue is that many of those using the platform were not fully cognisant of the fact that they were gambling, participating in a pyramid scheme dressed up as something quite different. If somebody does not know that they are gambling, they surely cannot be fully aware of the risk to which their money is exposed. The reality is that Football Index’s deliberate imitation of an investment product led to

“unparalleled levels of irresponsible gambling”

from thousands of users who were misled into believing that they were not gambling but investing, and obviously had no idea of the risks to which they were exposed. There is unanimous agreement in the Chamber today, and I am sure that the Minister will be listening to that carefully.

All the information was contained in a report to the Gambling Commission, which did nothing and rejected the warnings, as it did not consider that there was enough evidence to show that the undertaking was fraudulent. It then transpired that the Gambling Commission was not properly notified of the nature of the product in its licence application, nor was the regulator informed of changes to the product after its launch as required. There has clearly been an absence of scrutiny and, one might say, of curiosity in some quarters, given the concerns raised about the platform. Football Index was never regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, but areas for improvement for that body have been identified, including the speed of response to requests from the Gambling Commission and consistency of messaging on regulatory responsibilities.

For the constituents who contacted me about the issue—I am sure that it is the same for other Members’ constituents—the financial losses have been significant. For some, they have been life-changing, and have put strains on family relationships and future plans. Still there has been no redress for those who were told they were participating in an investment instead of a gambling opportunity. Indeed, the only hint on Football Index’s website that it was a betting site was an easy-to-miss strapline, which was added several years into its existence, and only at the insistence of the Advertising Standards Authority.

This situation happened because of spectacular failures in regulation, which allowed a gambling product to masquerade as a financial service or investment platform, without the regulation that that would suggest. Those who were fooled by Football Index—and they were fooled—should not pay the price of this failure of regulation. That only adds insult to serious injury. I know that the Minister will say that gambling losses cannot be made good by taxpayers’ money, but I draw his and other Members’ attention to the words of David Hammel, who is one of the spokespeople for the Football Index action group. He said:

“The regulators don’t actually cost the taxpayer any money, they are funded by licence fees and they also contribute to the Treasury by way of fines and settlements. There is a net surplus since…Football Index was first licensed in 2015, it’s approaching £1.3bn or £1.4bn that’s gone into the public purse.”

Football Index action group wants a mere 10% of that sum to be reassigned for use as redress. That would not directly involve taxpayers’ money.

[Ronnie Cowan]

I have one of those numbers going around in my head. It is said that £90 million was lost. Well, it was not lost. It is there somewhere. Someone has that money in a bank account somewhere; it did not just disappear into the ether. We are trying to find redress for people who have lost tens of thousands of pounds. If we identify that money, surely there is a way. Even if it is in a bank account in Jersey, there has to be a way of paying redress to the people who lost it in the first place.

[Patricia Gibson]

I thank my hon. Friend for that point, but I also urge the Minister to look carefully at the suggestion of David Hammel from the Football Index action group. I agree with Mr Hammel, and I want the Minister to consider his proposal for how redress can be managed for the victims of this scandal.

It almost goes without saying, but I will say it anyway, that such a fundamental regulatory failure must not happen again, yet Members have raised concerns about the co-founder of Football Index being involved in a new trading platform, KiX, that has striking—chilling, even—similarities to the one under discussion. I hope that the Minister will use his role to ensure that regulators keep a close watch on that new product. We must ensure that the same mistakes are not repeated, and that it is clear to all users whether a site is a gambling site or an investment site. There should never be any dubiety that the customer has to work through; it should be clear and front-facing.

I am sure the Minister will agree that this must not happen again. I ask him to think carefully about the suggestion from Mr Hammel about how we can recompense users of Football Index without directly using taxpayers’ money.

--- Later in debate ---

[Stuart Andrew]

I understand the hon. Lady’s point, but it is important that these things are looked at properly, under the remit of the existing legislation. The Gambling Commission has done a lot of work in this space to try to deal with the grey area that the hon. Member for Inverclyde (Ronnie Cowan) mentioned. I want to come on to that point, because the cryptoasset side of things brings in another area of work.

I assure Members here that I will speak to my Treasury colleagues to highlight this issue, and to ensure that we do not find ourselves in a position like this again and address each of these issues. I am confident that the relationship between the Gambling Commission and the FCA is much improved and that the regular meetings between the two organisations will ensure that there is not a slip again. However, in order to get this right, I am more than happy to speak to colleagues in other Departments to ensure that no cracks still exist.

[Patricia Gibson]

I want to press the Minister: can he assure me that he will go away and look at the suggestion made by David Hammel of the Football Index action group about a route to deliver compensation without having to take it directly from the taxpayer?

[Stuart Andrew]

I think it would be worth more than my life’s worth to commit Treasury colleagues to a policy, but I understand the hon. Lady’s point. I have seen that suggestion and I am sure that Treasury colleagues will have views on it. I will raise that with them and write to hon. Members following their response.

I thank everyone who has contributed to the debate. I hope that I have been able to provide clarity about some of the lessons that have been learned from the collapse of Football Index and the action that has been taken by the Government, the Gambling Commission and the FCA as a result. I understand the real consequences that people have felt. This debate has been invaluable for me to ensure that we consider all the issues that need addressing and speak to colleagues across Government so that we do not see this awful situation happen again.