The collapse of the football index left “investors” more than £ 90 million out of pocket in the UK’s biggest gambling failure of all time – down more than £ 100,000
The dramatic collapse of the Football Index left customers more than £ 90 million out of pocket in the biggest failure in the gambling business in British history.
Fans of the self-proclaimed “soccer stock market” piled thousands of pounds each on the platform to promise returns that would surpass traditional investments.
The company, which was founded by the former pornographer Adam Cole (70), collapsed in administration in March. Some users left care losses in excess of £ 100,000.
Losses: The company broke into administration in March, leaving some users with maintenance losses of more than £ 100,000
A report by administrators Begbies Traynor, which will be released next month, found the company only had assets of £ 11.7 million, which means players are getting only a fraction of their money back.
The platform enabled players to buy “shares” in professional footballers and receive dividends based on their performance. You could then exchange them for profit with other players and pay a small commission to the platform.
The victims piled money into the promise of “guaranteed returns” and returns that exceeded traditional investments. In total, there were open bets of £ 124.5m when the platform was suspended, according to administrators, who calculated that customers were ultimately left £ 90.5m out of their own pockets.
The victims have hired specialist Leigh Day lawyers to investigate a possible group action against the firm and its directors. Begbies Traynor declined to comment. Football Index were contacted for comment.
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