UKGC Held 14k BetIndex Files Before Collapse
FOI reveals vast correspondence volume on Football Index operator over a year prior to its failure.
A Freedom of Information request has revealed the UK Gambling Commission held almost 14,000 items of correspondence relating to BetIndex, the operator of Football Index, in a three-month period over a year before its 2021 collapse. The regulator withheld the documents, citing the cost of retrieval.
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Regulator Withheld Nearly 14,000 Items of Correspondence
A Freedom of Information (FOI) disclosure has revealed that the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) identified almost 14,000 items of correspondence relating to BetIndex, the parent company of the collapsed betting platform Football Index, during a critical three-month period.
The request, dated 18 March 2021, asked for all communications regarding BetIndex and Football Index between December 2019 and February 2020. This period is more than a year before the platform's eventual suspension and administration in March 2021, which resulted in significant consumer losses.
What the Data Reveals
The UKGC confirmed that a search of its email system for the terms "Betindex," "Bet Index," or "Football Index" within the specified dates produced a high volume of results.
In its response, the Commission stated: "This search has shown that there are almost 14,000 items potentially relevant to your request."
However, the regulator refused to provide the documents, citing Section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act. This exemption allows public authorities to decline requests where the cost of fulfilling them would exceed a set limit of £450, which corresponds to 18 hours of staff time.
The UKGC argued that each of the nearly 14,000 items would need to be individually reviewed to determine relevance, a task it estimated would take "in excess of 18 hours."
Why This Matters for Consumers
The disclosure of this figure, even without the content of the correspondence, is significant for consumers. It indicates that the regulator was receiving a substantial volume of communication about the Football Index platform well in advance of its high-profile collapse.
The nature of these communications—whether they were consumer complaints, general enquiries, or other forms of engagement—remains unknown due to the information being withheld. The refusal to release the documents on cost grounds prevents public scrutiny of what the UKGC knew about potential issues at BetIndex and when it knew it.
Other Information Withheld
The same FOI request also sought statistics on consumer correspondence for two other areas:
- Gamesys: The number of consumer contacts regarding operator Gamesys between 2017 and 2020.
- Operator Failures: The total number of complaints received by the UKGC per year concerning operator failures.
In both instances, the Commission confirmed that it holds the requested information but did not provide the data in its response. This highlights a challenge for consumers and researchers in accessing straightforward statistical data from the regulator regarding operator conduct and complaint trends.