Football Index

Football Index, founded by Adam Cole, is a UK-licensed and regulated gambling platform, known as the Football Stockmarket or simply The Index, that allows football enthusiasts to gamble on the future success of football players.[1][2] Traders place fixed-odds bets, known as Shares, for the chance to win daily payouts - more commonly referred to as Dividends.[3] Dividends are calculated based on player performance on match days, and their presence in the platform's Media Rankings which pay out on the top trending footballers each day.[4]

Football Index
Private
IndustryGambling, Technology
Founded2015
FounderAdam Cole
Headquarters
Jersey
,
United Kingdom
ParentIndex Labs
Websitefootballindex.co.uk

Company overview

BetIndex Ltd launched Football Index in October 2015 as a platform to gamble on football players.[5] The stock exchange cap called 'The Footie' started with the launch of the platform on 2 October 2015 with a base value of 1,000 points.[6] As of 3 April 2020 the Footie has grown to 159,207. Trader portfolios range from £10 to over £1,000,000, and 2% is charged as commission on sales.[7][8][9][10] In January 2018, Football Index reached 100k users, and surpassed half a million Traders in late 2019.

The company is owned by Index Labs, formerly Fame Ventures, who hold the software license for Football Index.[11]

During the 2018/2019 football season, over £321 million was traded on the platform, and over £4.3 million was paid out to Traders through Dividends.

In 2020, Football Index finalised a partnership with NASDAQ, whose technology will power an Order Books system to be implemented later in the year.[12]

Mechanics

A Footballer's value rises and falls based on supply and demand from Traders. In-demand Footballers (often those in form, in the media or youngsters with a bright future) will become more valuable, whilst the value of Footballers on downward trajectories will reflect their fall. Traders build a portfolio to capitalise on footballers' form and try to win Dividends based on their performances and media attention. There are four ways to make money on Football Index:

Capital Appreciation

The ‘buy low, sell high’ fundamentals of any conventional stock market apply in Football Index. Many Traders base their strategy around buying a player they think will go up in value, and then selling at a profit.

Matchday Dividends

Match Day Rankings is the daily monitor of footballing performance on Match Days. Match Day Dividends are won across the top leagues in Europe (Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A, and Ligue 1), the main two European football tournaments (Champions League and Europa League), the main two national team competitions (World Cup and European Championship) and the UEFA European Championship Qualifiers. Eligible competitions may also include additional competitions as and when they are available. The amount of Match Day Dividends paid out depends on the number of, and the prestige level of, the football matches taking place on that day. The top scoring defender, midfielder, and forward each match day based on the number of points they accumulate using Opta statistics, win the Dividend.

In-Play Dividends

A supplement to Matchday Dividends, this mechanic allows Traders to win Dividends for every goal, assist, and in the case of goalkeepers, clean sheet, their players produce in a Trader’s first 30 days of owning the shares.

Media Dividends

The original Dividend mechanic of Football Index. The company pays out a Dividend to traders who own shares in the top trending Footballer across its 20 media outlets every day of the year. Footballers are attributed points based on the nature of the mention, and the player with the most points at the end of the day finishes top of the Media Rankings, winning the Dividend for traders who own shares in him.

The Football Index Community

The Football Index community is made up of thousands of Traders with varying levels of involvement.[13] Traders are invited to converse about Football Index through the Football Index Forum - an active hub for discussion on trading with over 45,000 posts.[14] The company run popular social media accounts across all of the main social channels - primarily informing Traders about industry news through Twitter and Instagram.[15][16]

Guillem Balague is announced as a Football Index ambassador in September 2018.

FITV is Football Index's YouTube Channel which features regular videos from company staff, guest pundits (such as Guillem Balagué) and Football Index in general.[17]

An in-depth training resource - The Academy - is available to new and existing Football Index Traders. It contains descriptions of the platform's rules and mechanics, plus tactics and strategies designed to enhance Trader portfolios.[18] Weekly blogs from a host of football writers deliver the community news and opinions.

The community is kept busy and involved through regular Trader meets, competitions and online interaction.[19]

The official Football Index podcast was launched in 2019, with several well-known football journalists making guest appearances, including The Independent’s Tony Evans and freelance writer Jonathan Wilson.

Advertising and Marketing

John Motson was unveiled in August 2018 as the voice of Football Index. The iconic football commentator was heard on Football Index television and radio adverts for the 2018/19 football season.[20] Football Index advertises regularly on ITV, Channel 4 and Sky Sports.

BetIndex CEO Neil Kelly and Nottingham Forest Football Club CCO David Cook.

In July 2018 Football Index were unveiled as the shirt sponsor for the 18/19 season of Bristol Rovers.[21]

Guillem Balague was unveiled in September 2018 as a brand ambassador for Football Index. A regular pundit for Sky Sports, Balague added his knowledge and expertise of La Liga and the wider football world to the company. His role at Football Index includes hosting trader events, producing regular, exclusive blogs and videos and appearing on FITV.[22]

A second football expert, Raphael Honigstein, joined Football Index as a contributor in 2019.[23]

In June 2019, Football Index became the shirt sponsor for EFL Championship club Nottingham Forest, representing the biggest shirt sponsorship deal in the club’s history.[24]

Adam Cole, Football Index CEO and founder, with a branded taxi.

The Founder

Adam Cole[25] started Electric Video which dealt with pre-recorded video and DVD which was later sold to Richard Desmond.[26]

He also founded MyVillage network, a website that lists local restaurants, bars and services in the whole of the UK.[26]

Funding

Football Index secured £1.92m of funding from Burlywood Capital, the venture arm of gambling veteran Mark Blandford, who founded SportingBet.[27]

On 10 May 2016, they raised £1,156,327 through the crowdfunding platform Seedrs in exchange for 15.10% equity, at a pre-money valuation of £4,497,268.[28][29][30]

gollark: As I said, what you "should" do is different to what you legally can do.
gollark: I mean, it's somewhat relevant for... ethical/moral/whatever issues.
gollark: What do you mean what situation?
gollark: Not letting you do things because of (possible) *emotional* harm to other people is very problematic.
gollark: That seems like kind of a stretch.

References
  1. Mirror.co.uk (3 December 2015). "The insights from the football stockmarket". mirror. Archived from the original on 9 July 2018. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  2. "Tottenham target on the rise on Football INDEX". www.whoscored.com. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  3. "What is Football Index | Football Index". Football Index Academy. 11 April 2018. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  4. "What is a dividend | Football Index". Football Index Academy. 11 April 2018. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  5. "BetIndex launches football stock market". InterGame: iGaming, Casino & Coin-Op News. 7 October 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  6. "Football Index referral code & advice on how football stock market works". Profit Accumulator. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  7. Streeter, Joseph (27 February 2018). "Football INDEX announces geographical expansion". TotallyGaming.com. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  8. "Football INDEX expands into new markets". SBC News. 28 February 2018. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  9. "Football INDEX - A Stock Market Like Never Before". Matched Betting Basics. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  10. "Soccer Player Stock Exchange Expands Into Sweden And Canada". Online Gambling Sites. 12 March 2018. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  11. "Football Index over halfway home on Seedrs crowdfunding bid". SBC News. 5 April 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  12. "NASDAQ to deliver matching engine technology to Football Index".
  13. Streeter, Joseph (23 January 2018). "Football INDEX reaches 100,000 UK traders". TotallyGaming.com. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  14. "Home". Football Index Forum. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  15. "Football Index (@FootballIndexUK) | Twitter". twitter.com. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  16. "Football Index (@footballindexuk) • Instagram photos and videos". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  17. "Football Index - Official Channel". YouTube. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  18. "Academy | Football Index". Football Index Academy. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  19. "Pro gambler with £100k invested talks Football Index - An Interview with @IndexBig". IndexGain. 18 June 2018. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  20. "Football INDEX | Iconic commentator confirmed as voice of Football Index | SBCnews". Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  21. "Football INDEX unveiled as main sponsor of Bristol Rovers FC". SBC News. 23 July 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  22. "Guillem Balague Joins Football Index". Football INDEX News. 20 September 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  23. "Football Index Youtube Channel - Rafa Honigstein Playlist".
  24. https://www.nottinghamforest.co.uk/news/2019/june/Football-Index-announced-as-official-shirt-partner/
  25. "Adam Cole (@AdamColeFI) | Twitter". twitter.com. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  26. "Football INDEX | Shining the Spotlight | The Good Web Guide". Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  27. "RSNG | When The Founder Of The Football Index Set Out To Disrupt A £17bn Market He Took A Big Gamble". www.rsng.com. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  28. "Football Index raises £400,000 in Seedrs crowd-funding campaign". iGaming Business. 6 April 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  29. "Update: Football INDEX Captures Over £1M Through Seedrs Initiative | Crowdfund Insider". Crowdfund Insider. 18 May 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  30. "Football INDEX". www.seedrs.com. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
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