Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether he plans to establish an independent investigation into the collapse of (a) Football Index and (b) Footstock.

The government is taking the collapse of BetIndex Ltd (the operators of Football Index) and the concerns of those affected very seriously. On 20 April we announced an independent review of the regulation of the Football Index product. The review will take an objective look at the decisions and actions of the Gambling Commission and any other relevant regulators, to provide a clear account of how the company’s activities were regulated, identify if there are potential areas for improvement and inform our Review of the Gambling Act 2005. More information can be found in a Written Ministerial Statement on Regulation of Football Index, available at:

https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2021-04-20/hcws929

While we appreciate that the situation regarding Footstock has also affected some British customers, it would not be straightforward to include the regulation of both companies in the scope of an independent review. As significantly more customers in Britain were affected by its collapse, the review will focus on Football tIndex. We hope the insights from the investigation will inform how novel products are regulated in future.