Football Index - A warning/cautionary tale for football fans.

Dear Traders,

We know that the Dividend Announcement on Friday has caused frustration and disappointment, and has been a stressful experience for many of you.

Firstly, anyone who is concerned about their well-being, or the well-being of another user should consider the resources available on our Safer Gambling page or these mental health resources.

We feel that you deserve additional background as to how we have reached these decisions.

Over recent months, Football Index has sustained substantial losses. The Board agreed a recovery plan aimed at stemming these losses whilst retaining the dividend payments at current levels. It was hoped that this would stimulate a market recovery which would allow for the higher dividend to continue to be paid prior to the normal annual review, and for an exciting and affordable Dividend to be announced at that time. The issuance of new shares and IPOs were key deliverables of that recovery plan, amongst other initiatives to rejuvenate the market.

Our team worked hard to deliver against that recovery plan. We made increased efforts to maintain the levels required when they were at risk. However, it became clear that important KPIs of the plan were not being sustained to a level that would support the ongoing payment of dividends at those levels, despite substantial progress being made against those objectives.

While the Board worked to form a new plan to retain the maximum sustainable level of dividends, the Board decided to continue business as usual until a new plan was agreed and adopted, on the basis that the Board considered that this would be less disruptive to, and in the best interests of stakeholders. Once it was clear that the reduction and restructure of dividends to the degree announced was necessary, we suspended placing issuance orders and announced the reduction and restructure to customers as soon as reasonably practicable. We will notify customers if and when these are put into operation again. There was no intent to mislead customers in these transactions, or in the announcement of a Q&A session.

Once again, anyone concerned about their well-being or the well-being of another user should reach out through the resources detailed.

We would also like to stress that while we are aware of the fact that our latest announcement proved upsetting for many of you, we have a zero-tolerance policy with regards to abuse and threats to our employees. Any such behaviour will not be tolerated, and we will pursue all necessary measures should they arise.

As ever, the long-term sustainability of the platform remains our main priority.

Football Index HQ
Statement from FI HQ
0 6 / 0 3 / 2 1

I think they'll regret that statement at some point. Tantamount to admitting fraud.
 


How have they admitted fraud? Will legal action come? They said a few months the company was in the best shape utter scum.
 
I think they'll regret that statement at some point. Tantamount to admitting fraud.

I know I'm uneducated at best in this shit (and I'm drunk), but how do they even make losses? I thought it was like betfair in that they just took a cut off other people investing in "shares" in players. Have I just got it completely wrong? Thought it was a commission type thing where really you'd struggle to lose money
 
I know I'm uneducated at best in this shit (and I'm drunk), but how do they even make losses? I thought it was like betfair in that they just took a cut off other people investing in "shares" in players. Have I just got it completely wrong? Thought it was a commission type thing where really you'd struggle to lose money

Two ways:

They screwed up the internal market, so the dividend payments really were too high for a time. Someone who did well out of Neymar or Messi (no-brainers) between 2017-2020 was returning about 75% on their investment (a ludicrous figure considering who they were and how many people owned them). That was the problem they had, that the short term mechanisms to draw players in with winnings were unsustainable. When they lowered them, they basically admitted that the whole thing was not a working business model. They took away the ability to sell back to FI (Quick sell) because that was another way they lost money.

And because it's a Ponzi scheme, they invested the majority of the cash they raised (either by investment or commission) on advertising. If at any point a Ponzi scheme loses the illusion of wealth and prosperity, it is in immediate danger of being exposed, so they couldn't pull any of their sponsorship or advertising, because that would essentially be saying that they were in financial trouble.

It's a horrible mess. The Athletic are currently gathering info for a big article next week if you're interested in speaking to them @cowan86 ?
How have they admitted fraud? Will legal action come? They said a few months the company was in the best shape utter scum.

They have said that they knew the business model was unsustainable, but continued to operate it knowing it would need to change. In court, I suspect the question that will be asked will revolve around whether there was any chance of the dividend's going up. To take those bets over the last few weeks knowing that they couldn't pay them out and intended to substantially reduce their value will be a nightmare for them.

However, it became clear that important KPIs of the plan were not being sustained to a level that would support the ongoing payment of dividends at those levels, despite substantial progress being made against those objectives.

While the Board worked to form a new plan to retain the maximum sustainable level of dividends, the Board decided to continue business as usual until a new plan was agreed and adopted...

Unfortunately, it will be difficult to recoup funds from a bankrupt business, but you might get to see the perpetrators hauled over the coals for that statement, and the paper trail examined.
 
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I had done the free £500 offer a few times. Made a bit of money both times. I couldn't understand how they could afford to pay the dividents. Also found the markets of the players I wanted were not liquid enough and it would have been a long term investment which i didnt fancy
 
I know I'm uneducated at best in this shit (and I'm drunk), but how do they even make losses? I thought it was like betfair in that they just took a cut off other people investing in "shares" in players. Have I just got it completely wrong? Thought it was a commission type thing where really you'd struggle to lose money
Although KittenMittens mentions it, I think the key part was glossed over which is the fundamental aspect of what the "dividend" is.
This 'feature' that users got paid an amount (a dividend) at a timed interval for the shares they owned. Realistically, there doesn't seem to be a way a company could keep that going without constant growth. A normal company will decide what they pay out based on how well they do in the year. The only way FI could keep paying dividends is by getting more users or seeing more and more money being traded. At some point the dividends would come down in value and the obvious response to that happening is going to be a pullback in sentiment over is it all viable.
 
700 pound down here,but I've took money out at certain stages in the past, theres talk about net deposits being paid back but I'm not sure that will happen.
 
I’ve never understood it, never seen how it was tangible

guess I was right

Had the same conversation with a mate two years a go about this company and the fact that you're buying nothing tangible made it a ponzi scheme.

At least with shares you own a part of the company or with a bet you win if you get the correct outcome.

With this you never own a part of the player, you just pretend you do. As soon as people realise this then they sell and the whole thing collapses like a house of cards.
 
Documentary to follow? Without doing any research surely one of the biggest gambling scams ever, considering famous people they had promoting it, media advertising, sponsorships etc.
I ‘invested’ a bit over two years ago and pulled out around the same amount after a couple of months. No matter how much research I done into it, couldn’t actually work out what I was buying and the only way it seemed sustainable was if people kept pumping money into it.
I can see why people would’ve stuck with it, with decent dividend’s returned, the look of a high profile company and regulated by the gambling commission, above the surface it does look above board.
Have total sympathy for any lives affected or ruined by this, and some of the comments/views on people scammed by this is bang out of order.
 
Nice to see this get a proper run in the press yesterday.

They gave the impression it was an investment opportunity rather than a betting product.

Indeed, and actually the literature around it and gambling warnings got more explicit from last summer too, from what I saw. Earlier on they tried to avoid saying too much and straddled the line between betting and investment in the same way Draftkings and Fanduel claimed to be fantasy sports. Seems to have changed a little when they realised their trajectory was very much downwards.
 
I always saw this £500 back if you didn't fancy it offer but always stayed well clear. Reading their statement etc, tantamount to highway robbery which has gone on. Hopefully people can get some cash back.
 
Looked into it briefly as I’d assumed it was an actual stock market where you could buy shares in young players that were connected to reality.

when I realized it was an arbitrary system with “values” just being made up by the people profiting from it I thought “not a chance I’m putting any money into that”.

Thanks to the OP for the heads up and explainer: hopefully stop a few people making daft choices and losing money.
 
Yeah I didn't want to post about it yesterday after the match because it's a real kick in the balls for some people, but noticed also that a Tory MP for a place called 'North West Durham', which I assume is somewhere down South, is also raising it in parliament.

I think they've acted in incredibly bad faith, the Gambling Commission responded was a complete abrogation of their responsibilities to punters. They might as well not exist if they can't figure out this is a ponzi scheme and that it's the fault of bettors if they go under and take all their cash.

Scumbags.
 

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