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Government publishes report on regulation of Football Index

The government has published its report of the independent review of the regulation of Football Index. BetIndex Ltd provided a gambling product, Football Index, which allowed customers to bet and receive dividends on footballers’ future performance. BetIndex was licensed by the Gambling Commission but not authorised by the FCA and there was uncertainty as to whether all or part of the Football Index product fell within the FCA’s regulatory perimeter.

The report, amongst other things, outlines the FCA’s views on the regulatory perimeter for gambling products. The FCA considers that sports spread betting, as a gambling activity undertaken for leisure purposes, does not naturally fit within the FCA’s remit for consumer protection of investment activity within the financial services sector. However, given the uncertainty around regulatory responsibility for these products, the FCA is in discussions with the Commission with a view to ensuring that the review of the Gambling Act 2005 clarifies the regulatory status of sports spread betting products.

Lucy Hadrill