In March 2021, the gambling website Football Index – the self-styled “stock market” of football – encountered the last of several crashes in the “share” prices on its exchange and then collapsed into administration, with at least £100m of customers’ money in “open bets” trapped inside. Many of its users suffered life-changing losses, of five- and even six-figure sums, and relationships and families also fell apart under the strain. It was, and remains, the most spectacular and expensive collapse in Britain’s gambling industry.
In the days and weeks that followed, details emerged of chaos, failure and incompetence at Football Index dating back to its inception and launch in 2015. It became apparent that the site had been “minting” and selling new “shares” just days before its collapse.
