Football Index addresses investors on losses distribution
Football Index has released a statement addressing the distribution of lost finances to its customers, two months after the operator entered administration.
Begbies Traynor, the insolvency practitioner of Football Index’s parent company BetIndex, initially began to process customer claims against the company in April.
The claims process was available to all users of the football player trading platform, including those who had self-excluded via Gamstop.
A hearing to decide the distribution of up to £4.5 million to former Football Index customers has been scheduled for 10 May.
In its recent update, Football Index detailed: “On 30 April 2021 the Administrators of BetIndex Limited issued an application for the determination of the appropriate distribution of the monies held in the Football Index Player Protection Account, and the identification of the customer classes who may be entitled to participate in those funds.
“This is the first step towards the distribution of cash balances to customers of the Football Index platform. The hearing will take place at 11:30am on Monday 10 May 2021.”
Football Index initially suspended business in March following an exodus of customers and investors as a result of its decision to slash dividends on players from 14p to 3p, a decision which led to some users losing hundreds of thousands of pounds.
The operator’s license was subsequently suspended by the UK Gambling Commission, as was its membership of the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC).
Begbies Traynor was then recruited by the company to conduct insolvency proceedings, with the stated aim of providing the ‘best outcome for customers, whilst Betinex also expressed hope that it could maintain its operating status ‘in a restructured form’.
Although positive news for Football Index’s former investors and customers, the fallout from the operator’s collapse continues to have significant political ramifications, as the UK government continues with its overhaul of the 2005 Gambling Act.
The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) in particular came under fire for its handling of the situation, with its decision to suspend Football Index’s license criticised as coming too late.
UK Ministers, who were reportedly ‘deeply concerned’ by the developments, announced a probe into the demise of the trading exchange in April, whilst MPs on the All Party Parliamentary Group for Gambling Related Harm (GRH APPG) described the situation as a ‘scandal’.
Source: SBC News
