Repayments to customers of failed operator Football Index set to begin

The administrators of the collapsed betting platform Football Index have confirmed customers will be able to withdraw funds from their accounts from Tuesday afternoon.

Customers lost an estimated £90 million when the platform, which mimicked the stock market by allowing customers to buy 'shares' in footballers, crashed in March.

The announcement from administrators Begbies Traynor comes a day after the same firm informed Football Index customers that withdrawals would in fact be delayed due to a dispute with Index Labs – a company which provides the platform for payments to be processed.

A statement on Tuesday morning said: "Further to our statement of yesterday, the joint administrators are pleased to confirm that the board of Index Labs has agreed to process the customer repayments.

"This will begin at approximately midday today [Tuesday] and customers will receive communications confirming this. We will provide further updates in due course."

The chief executive of the Gambling Commission, Andrew Rhodes, confirmed via Twitter that the regulator was investigating the events surrounding the delay.

Rhodes said: "We were aware of an issue that prevented Football Index customers withdrawing their ewallet funds. We’ve been in touch with all parties today in relation to this development and have now received confirmation from the administrators for BetIndex that the issue has been resolved.

"Our inquiries are continuing with the administrators and Index Labs and we have impressed upon both parties the need to make the interests of consumers a priority."

Rhodes went on to confirm that any monies returned to Football Index customers would comprise solely of cash balances in accounts and not any funds held in shares or due via dividends.

Last month, a High Court ruling decreed payments, estimated to be in the region of £3.2m, should be paid to customers of Football Index.

The betting platform formed part of Jersey-based parent company BetIndex, which maintained a trust containing money to be used to cover customers in the event of financial difficulties.

The government has already taken action on the issue, last month confirming that Malcolm Sheehan QC would lead an independent review into the collapse of the operator.

The review will cover the period from September 2015, when the Gambling Commission issued a licence to BetIndex, to the suspension of that licence in March.

Read more on this subject:

Government announces independent review into collapse of Football Index

Under-fire Gambling Commission launched Football Index investigation last May

Football Index licence suspended as clients face big losses following crash

Gambling Commission accused of 'complete failure' over Football Index storm

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