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Request date: 17 August 2026
This version was printed or saved on: 15 September 2026
Online version: https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/about-us/freedomofinformation/legal-advice-concerning-football-index
The Gambling Commission has previously confirmed that it instructed Leading Counsel on or around 10 March 2020 concerning BetIndex/Football Index and received draft advice on 19 March 2020. Please provide, where disclosure is possible:
the name of the chambers from which Leading Counsel was instructed;
the name of the instructing solicitor, legal officer or department within the Gambling Commission;
the date the instruction was authorised;
the date the instruction was issued;
the date the advice was received;
the professional title of the person instructed (KC/QC/other);
the total amount paid to that chambers or counsel in relation to the instruction;
any invoice, purchase-order or payment reference relating to the instruction, with privileged substantive information redacted if necessary.
Please provide a list of all external solicitors, barristers, chambers or other legal providers instructed by the Gambling Commission in relation to BetIndex/Football Index between 1 January 2019 and 31 March 2021. For each provider, please provide:
name of the provider;
whether they were solicitors, Leading Counsel/KC/QC or another legal provider;
date first instructed;
date last instructed;
general subject matter of the instruction;
total expenditure paid to that provider.
Please provide the total expenditure incurred by the Gambling Commission on external legal services relating specifically to BetIndex/Football Index for:
2019;
2020;
2021 up to 31 March.
Where possible, please provide the expenditure broken down by external legal provider.
The Independent Review into the regulation of BetIndex records that BetIndex obtained advice from Leading Counsel in November 2020 concerning whether its product fell within the FCA regulatory perimeter. Please provide any non-privileged administrative information held by the Gambling Commission identifying:
the solicitor/law firm representing or corresponding on behalf of BetIndex in relation to that advice;
the chambers from which BetIndex's Leading Counsel was instructed, if recorded;
the date on which the Gambling Commission was informed that BetIndex intended to obtain Leading Counsel's advice;
the date on which the Gambling Commission received or was provided with that advice;
any invoice, payment or administrative record held by the Commission identifying the external legal providers involved.
Please provide non-privileged correspondence between the Gambling Commission and the Financial Conduct Authority concerning the regulatory classification of Football Index between 1 January 2019 and 31 March 2021, specifically correspondence concerning:
spread betting;
Contracts for Difference (CFDs);
Article 85 of the Regulated Activities Order;
FSMA 2000;
whether the "Shares" element of Football Index fell within the FCA regulatory perimeter;
which regulator had jurisdiction over any part of the product.
This request includes emails, meeting records, letters and briefing notes.
Where correspondence contains legally privileged material, please redact the privileged material and disclose the remainder where reasonably possible.
The Gambling Commission has previously confirmed that on 14 February 2020 it contacted the FCA concerning whether Football Index could constitute spread betting. Please provide:
the date and time of the correspondence;
the sender and recipient job titles;
the subject line;
the FCA's response, if held;
any subsequent non-privileged correspondence arising from that enquiry.
If the substantive content is considered exempt, please provide the metadata, sender, recipient, date, subject line and document description.
Please provide a schedule of documents held relating to the Leading Counsel instruction made on or around 10 March 2020, including:
document title;
date;
document type;
author;
recipient(s);
general description;
exemption relied upon if withheld.
Thank you for your request which has been processed under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).
Request
In your email you have requested information concerning BetIndex Limited, trading as Football Index. Specifically:
The Gambling Commission has previously confirmed that it instructed Leading Counsel on or around 10 March 2020 concerning BetIndex/Football Index and received draft advice on 19 March 2020. Please provide, where disclosure is possible:
the name of the chambers from which Leading Counsel was instructed;
the name of the instructing solicitor, legal officer or department within the Gambling Commission;
the date the instruction was authorised;
the date the instruction was issued;
the date the advice was received;
the professional title of the person instructed (KC/QC/other);
the total amount paid to that chambers or counsel in relation to the instruction;
any invoice, purchase-order or payment reference relating to the instruction, with privileged substantive information redacted if necessary.
Please provide a list of all external solicitors, barristers, chambers or other legal providers instructed by the Gambling Commission in relation to BetIndex/Football Index between 1 January 2019 and 31 March 2021. For each provider, please provide:
name of the provider;
whether they were solicitors, Leading Counsel/KC/QC or another legal provider;
date first instructed;
date last instructed;
general subject matter of the instruction;
total expenditure paid to that provider.
Please provide the total expenditure incurred by the Gambling Commission on external legal services relating specifically to BetIndex/Football Index for:
2019;
2020;
2021 up to 31 March.
Where possible, please provide the expenditure broken down by external legal provider.
The Independent Review into the regulation of BetIndex records that BetIndex obtained advice from Leading Counsel in November 2020 concerning whether its product fell within the FCA regulatory perimeter. Please provide any non-privileged administrative information held by the Gambling Commission identifying:
the solicitor/law firm representing or corresponding on behalf of BetIndex in relation to that advice;
the chambers from which BetIndex's Leading Counsel was instructed, if recorded;
the date on which the Gambling Commission was informed that BetIndex intended to obtain Leading Counsel's advice;
the date on which the Gambling Commission received or was provided with that advice;
any invoice, payment or administrative record held by the Commission identifying the external legal providers involved.
Please provide non-privileged correspondence between the Gambling Commission and the Financial Conduct Authority concerning the regulatory classification of Football Index between 1 January 2019 and 31 March 2021, specifically correspondence concerning:
spread betting;
Contracts for Difference (CFDs);
Article 85 of the Regulated Activities Order;
FSMA 2000;
whether the "Shares" element of Football Index fell within the FCA regulatory perimeter;
which regulator had jurisdiction over any part of the product.
This request includes emails, meeting records, letters and briefing notes.
Where correspondence contains legally privileged material, please redact the privileged material and disclose the remainder where reasonably possible.
The Gambling Commission has previously confirmed that on 14 February 2020 it contacted the FCA concerning whether Football Index could constitute spread betting. Please provide:
the date and time of the correspondence;
the sender and recipient job titles;
the subject line;
the FCA's response, if held;
any subsequent non-privileged correspondence arising from that enquiry.
If the substantive content is considered exempt, please provide the metadata, sender, recipient, date, subject line and document description.
Please provide a schedule of documents held relating to the Leading Counsel instruction made on or around 10 March 2020, including:
document title;
date;
document type;
author;
recipient(s);
general description;
exemption relied upon if withheld.
Response
Section 21 of the FOIA provides that information is exempt where it is accessible by other means. Some of the information that is disclosable falling within the scope of your request can be found published within the Sheehan Report, in particular, please see:
We have also published information relating to this case in response to other FOI requests which may be of assistance to you. Our responses are available on our disclosure log, here: Freedom of Information Requests - Full Register.
We can confirm that the Commission holds other information falling within the scope of your request. This information is however exempt from disclosure under sections 40 (personal information), 41 (confidentiality), 42 (legal professional privilege) and 43 (commercial interests) of the FOIA.
Given the number of elements in the request the Commission has prepared a summary of its response and the exemptions upon which it relies in relation to each element in the attached table. The Commission’s detailed consideration of the exemptions is then set out below.
Section 40 – Personal Information
The Data Protection Act 2018 requires personal data to be processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner in relation to the data subject.
It is the view of the Commission that disclosing information relating to the individuals involved with instructing or providing legal advice concerning this case would constitute the disclosure of personal data.
Additionally, the Commission considers that there are limited counsel with this expertise, and, when combined with other data, information regarding chambers or the status of counsel, if disclosed, could lead to the individual being identifiable or identified, and is consequently personal data.
The Commission has considered whether there is a lawful basis for the disclosure of this information for this purpose and has concluded that there is not.
In considering whether there is a legitimate interest in disclosing the personal data under Article 6(f) of GDPR, the Commission does not consider the disclosure is necessary for the purposes of a legitimate interest pursued by the controller or by the third party, as the identity of those individuals is not relevant to the question of whether advice has been sought.
This information is therefore exempt under section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Section 41
Section 41 provides an exemption under the FOIA from the right to know, where the information was provided to the public authority in confidence.
Information will be covered by section 41 if it was obtained by the Commission from any other person (including another public authority) and its disclosure would constitute a breach of confidence actionable by that or any other person.
When deciding if disclosure would constitute a breach of confidence, the Commission has considered whether the information has the quality of confidence, whether it was imparted in circumstances imparting an obligation of confidence, and whether disclosure would be an unauthorised use of the information to the detriment of the confider.
The information requested was provided to the Commission in circumstances imparting an obligation of confidence and has the necessary quality of confidence.
Having considered your request and the information falling within scope of the request, the Commission has concluded that disclosure would constitute a breach of confidence because it could be subject to an actionable claim for breach of confidence if this information was disclosed.
Section 42 – Legal Professional Privilege
Information in respect of which a claim to legal professional privilege (LPP) could be maintained in legal proceedings is exempt information pursuant to s 42 of the FOIA.
LPP recognises the confidentiality of communications between a legal advisor and a client enabling legal advice to be sought and received without fear of those communications being held against them in proceedings or otherwise.
The Commission does hold legal advice that falls within the scope of your request. This information (and consequently the information within the scope of this request) is exempt under s 42 of the FOIA because it is information which is protected by legal advice privilege.
Section 43 – Commercial Interests
Section 43(2) of the FOIA provides that information is exempt information if: its disclosure under the FOIA would, or would be likely to, prejudice the commercial interests of any person (including the public authority holding it).
Whilst the Commission aims to be open and transparent, there is a need to preserve the confidentiality of information relating to the Commission or third parties and to be mindful of the commercial sensitivities of information that is held.
Information falling with the scope of your request relates to the detailed financial and commercially sensitive information associated with the matter. This information is not otherwise in the public domain.
The Public Interest Test
Each of the above exemptions is qualified and requires a public authority to balance the public interest in coming to a decision. The Commission has considered the public interest in disclosing the information and the public interest in withholding the information and maintaining the exemptions detailed above.
In considering the public interest the Commission has considered factors in favour of disclosure of the information.
The Commission is a public body which regulates the gambling industry in accordance with its statutory objectives, and its work is in the public interest. We recognise that there is therefore a public interest in members of the public having confidence that the Commission is being open and honest in how it regulates, and the information it holds so that it can be effectively held to account. We also recognise the public interest in general relating to this case in understanding how relevant parties acted
The Commission has also considered factors in favour of maintaining the exemptions.
There is a strong public interest in Commission staff being able to access full and frank legal advice without concerns that this advice will be disclosed. There is a strong public interest that third parties can share privileged legal advice with the Commission on a confidential basis (on the basis of common interest privilege or limited waiver) to allow frank and open discussion between parties. Disclosure may have a negative impact upon the frankness of legal advice provided and may even have an impact upon the extent to which legal advice is sought and/or shared which would deprive public authorities from understanding the full context in which it is operating. This would also not be in the public interest.
The Commission also depends and relies on the free flow of confidential information from operators and third parties to perform its statutory functions. The Commission’s ability to undertake its statutory functions would be significantly fettered if disclosure occurred creating a chilling effect on the willingness of parties to share relevant information in the future. The s41 exemption provides protection from disclosure of such confidential information providing a degree of assurance that their confidences will continue to be respected. The Commission considers that the public interest in disclosing this information is outweighed by the wider public interest in upholding the principle of confidentiality, and the impact that disclosure would have on professional advisors and our working relationships across industry.
Having weighed these considerations, the Commission is of the view that the public interest lies in favour of maintaining the exemptions and withholding the information.
If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your Freedom of Information request you are entitled to an internal review of our decision. You should write to FOI Team, Gambling Commission, 4th floor, Victoria Square House, Victoria Square, Birmingham, B2 4BP or by reply to this email.
Please note, internal review requests should be made within 40 working days of the initial response. Requests made outside this timeframe will not be processed.
If you are not content with the outcome of our review, you may then apply directly to the Information Commissioner (ICO) for a decision. Generally, the ICO cannot make a decision unless you have already exhausted the review procedure provided by the Gambling Commission.
It should be noted that if you wish to raise a complaint with the ICO about the Commission’s handling of your request for information, then you are required to do so within six weeks of receiving your final response or last substantive contact with us.
The ICO can be contacted at: The Information Commissioner’s Office (opens in a new tab), Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.
Information Management Team
Gambling Commission
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