The Gambling Commission has suspended the operating licence of Nottingham Forest shirt sponsors Football Index.
The online betting company, which is described as “the world’s first football stock market”, posted a statement on their website on Thursday night saying they had gone into administration.
And the Gambling Commission issued a response this morning, saying they had “concerns” about the way the company was operating.
Their statement said: “The Gambling Commission has decided to suspend the operating licence of BetIndex Limited (t/a Football Index) pursuant to section 118(2) of the Gambling Act 2005.
“The suspension follows an ongoing section 116 review into the operator, as we had concerns activities may have been carried on in purported reliance on the licence, but not in accordance with a condition of the licence, and that Football Index may not be suitable to carry on with licensed activities.
“We have made it clear to the operator that as the investigation progresses, we expect it to focus on treating consumers fairly and keeping them fully informed of any developments which impact them.
“Football Index can be contacted via their website and as part of our review we continue to work closely with colleagues from the Jersey Gambling Commission.
“The Gambling Commission will not comment any further whilst this investigation is ongoing.”
Football Index are the Reds’ principal shirt sponsors and also have a deal with fellow Championship side QPR.
The company said its platform has been suspended until further notice, coming just days after many users were left furious over a change to the site’s terms and conditions.
The change led to share prices plummeting and many users seeing the value of their portfolios being reduced by huge sums.
Football Index’s statement said: “We understand this has been a difficult and challenging week for you all.
“After much difficult deliberation, we must now issue the following update.
“The Board of BetIndex Limited has consulted with external legal and financial advisors, and the UK and Jersey Gambling Commissions. The decision has been made to suspend the platform.
“The dividend restructures announced on Friday was a necessary step in a business recovery plan to seek the long-term sustainability of the platform. However, it is clear that this has not been well received and we need to find a more agreeable way forward.
“We are pursuing a restructuring arrangement to be agreed with our stakeholders including, most importantly, our community. We are preparing this through an administration with insolvency practitioners Begbies Traynor, to seek the best outcome for customers with the goal of continuing the platform in a restructured form.
“The restructure could involve equity in BetIndex Limited being distributed to customers, board representation for customers, and a new management team put in place, along with other initiatives.
“Until such time as the administrators are in office, the platform will remain suspended and no trading or payment transactions, such as deposits and withdrawals, will be possible. 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.
“We fully understand and anticipate concerns regarding a temporary suspension of your ability to withdraw existing Cash Balances and assure you that they will remain held in a segregated account to be managed in conjunction with our advisors, protected by the trust arrangements that are in place and will be subject to review by the administrators.
“The Board have at all times been seeking the best way to sustain the platform as we believed a recovery was not only possible but also in the best interests of our customers. This decision is deeply regrettable and is the outcome we were seeking to avoid by restructuring dividends. However, we believe it is the most responsible route forward for our community given the situation as it has developed.
“The administrators will release a statement upon their formal appointment by the Court, which is anticipated to be in the next 10 days and will be able to share further timelines at that point.”
