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n April 2021, a review was announced by the Government to examine the actions taken by the Gambling Commission between September 2015 up to the suspension of BetIndex’s license in March this year. The investigation was led by Malcolm Sheehan QC, the full report and outcomes of it were released last week.
The Gambling Commission also carried out a separate regulatory investigation into BetIndex Ltd on which will be reported in due course and has referred the case to bankruptcy services. Administration proceedings for BetIndex Ltd are also ongoing, investigating the company’s assets and liabilities and may result in some reimbursement to creditors.
Although Football Index was not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the review also shows how it worked with the Gambling Commission during this period and how it considered whether Football Index should also be regulated under financial services legislation.
The investigation found that BetIndex did not properly notify the Gambling Commission of the nature of the product in its license application, nor did it inform the regulator of changes to the product after launch as it was required to. Additionally, the Gambling Commission could have better responded to the challenges that the novel product raised once launched, with earlier scrutiny, quicker decision-making and action, and better escalation of issues. And although Football Index was not regulated by the FCA, it identified areas for improvement by the FCA, such as the speed of responding to committee requests and the consistency of the regulatory responsibility message.
UK Gambling Minister Chris Philp, said: “I’m extremely conscious of how devastating the collapse of Football Index has been on its many customers, which is why we moved quickly to launch this independent review”.
He added: “We have been clear that we must learn lessons to make sure a situation like this does not happen again. I’m encouraged to see the Gambling Commission and the FCA are taking concrete steps on an action plan on how they will better work together.”
“We will ensure that the findings from this review feed directly into our ongoing Gambling Act Review which is looking at ways we can improve regulation of the gambling industry,” he concluded.
In light of the independent review, the Gambling Commission and the FCA are already taking steps to improve ways of working going forward.
They have developed a strengthened Memorandum of Understanding, which includes new escalation routes to make sure regulatory impasses are identified and overcome quickly. Moreover, the Gambling Commission has updated its framework for how it assesses risk so that product novelty is properly considered, as well as committing to consulting on tighter rules for the terminology used to describe gambling products. This includes making clear distinctions for consumers where products are gambling, rather than ‘investments’. Lastly, the FCA has additionally nominated an Executive Director to oversee the relationship with the Commission and continue to pursue its program of change.
In addition, the report asks whether more should be done to ensure that gambling companies which are able to cover the payouts. This question will be considered as part of the Government’s Gambling White Paper, which will be published in due course.
Original article: https://www.yogonet.com/international//noticias/2021/09/22/59408-uk-government-releases-independent-report-into-betting-platform-football-index
