Football Index Users Mull Class Action Lawsuit Over Loss of ‘Life Altering’ Sums

Football Index users who say they lost “life altering” sums of money on the online gambling platform may now file a class action lawsuit.

The platform allows users to “invest” in footballers by getting them to buy and sell shares in players and then earn money depending on the player’s performance. Football Index boasted approximately half a million users at one point and was valued at £80m, says The DailyMail. However, after the company made some dramatic changes users frantically attempted to sell their shares causing its value to slide to £20m.

Football Index users, some of whom say they put tens of thousands of pounds into the platform, saw their money disappear when Football Index announced it was flooding the market with additional shares and cutting dividends.

Users responded in a frenzy, desperately trying to sell their Football Index shares, which led to a dramatic collapse in share prices, reports The DailyMail. 

Football Index users told SportsMail this week about their losses, some claiming to have lost as much as £60,000 in the gambling platform crash. Others claimed to have lost most of their net worth. 

Users told reporters that they’re considering their legal options, including a class action lawsuit, to recover losses they suffered as the company collapsed. 

Though Football Index said it was attempting to ensure “the long-term sustainability of the platform,” it reportedly has been suspended due to the extreme drop in value by regulators who pulled its parent company, BetIndex Limited’s gambling license.  

“Until such time as the administrators is in office, the platform will remain suspended and no trading or payment transactions, such as deposits and withdrawals, will be possible,” said Football Index in a statement reported by The DailyMail. 

“Once in office, the administrators will be in contact with customers, creditors, and other stakeholders. This interim step of suspending the platform is merely to ensure that everyone’s rights are preserved in relation to funds held by BetIndex Limited.”

Football Index now claims that it was never intended to be used as a “savings product” in statements to SportsMail, but users claim that the company misrepresented this information to induce them to place large amounts of money on the platform. 

“The business model was unsustainable,” Matt Zarb-Cousins from the campaign group Clean Up Gambling told The Daily Mail. “It has taken people losing life-altering sums of money for the Gambling Commission to intervene. It’s too late.”

Are you a Football Index user? Did you lose money? Tell us about your experience in the comment section below.

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