Football Index, a popular sports betting site in the United Kingdom (UK) caught thousands of UK players off-guard, when the site suddenly decided to shut down. The sportsbook claimed that it was facing big financial challenges and could no longer continue to service the UK market.
There was widespread criticism from Football Index players on social media who claim that they felt cheated as most of them had their winnings locked up in Football Index and now had no means to access their funds. Report suggest that over £90 million of player funds is trapped in Football Index.
Earlier this week, it appeared that Football Index was going to disappear and players were going to have to wait for a long time to see if they can recover any or all of their funds. However, there is a glimmer of hope for them as Football Index announced that they were seriously looking for a buyer to acquire the sportsbook and save the day.
Media reports show that the sportsbook has hired the services of Oakvale Capital which is a financial advisory firm that has experience in the gambling industry to lead the search and find a potential buyer. The Football Index directors are confident that they will be able to revive the brand and get it going again with a new buyer at the helm.
Football Index released a statement saying they wanted to continue to offer sports betting services via their platform once they restructured things and sorted out their financial issues. The sportsbook claimed they were serious about protecting the best interests of their customers and would look to do the right thing for football betting in the UK.
Neither Football Index or Oakvale Capital disclosed any information as to what price they were looking to sell and whether they had any potential buyers interested at the moment. We will have to wait a few days to see if any names are disclosed.
Multiple players have joined together to file a lawsuit against Football Index and its parent company BetIndex.
Leigh Day which is the law firm representing the players has said that they will consider going after the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) for failing to do more to protect UK bettors from being taken advantage of by a licensed gaming operator like Football Index.
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