Nasdaq Partners with UK Football Betting Platform
Nasdaq Inc, the American-based stock exchange group is bringing its international brand and trade technology to the UK as they team up with local betting platform Football Index. Nasdaq Inc., who run the second largest stock exchange in the world, will aid Football Index in developing a country-wide trading platform that will include traditional stock exchange tools. When it goes live, the new platform will offer bettors the chance to wager on popular football players by buying and selling stakes relating to the players performance on the pitch.
Football Index is a major sports and gambling operator in the UK. In 2014 they launched their very own virtual stock market, giving players the ability to purchase shares in star players like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Teaming up with Nasdaq will allow the firm to offer a type of fantasy football and traditional sports betting model along with the stock market feature.
Trading Players
Nasdaq aims to incorporate its technology into Football Index in the same way as a traditional stock market. According to the press release, the Nasdaq software will act as a type of automated matchmaker between the buyer and the seller. It will be able to track prices instantly and in real time while simultaneously processing trades on the platform.
Currently the UK Gambling Commission regulates Football Index. Although their virtual stock market has many similarities to traditional trade, they have never offered real shares in players. Instead, users buy a stake with the value fluctuation according to the performance of the player in question. The company famously advertises that Football Index does not offer shares but rather something akin to a 3-year wager on the performance of a particular football player.
The company works out the value of a player via an online football news channel known as Football Buzz as well as a basic point system calculator. Due to the somewhat ambiguous language on their site, Football Index has been asked by the UK gambling Ombudsman to clarify their wording.
The Right Market for Stock Trading
As for Nasdaq, their partnership with Football Index could not have come at a more opportune time. the company has increasing competition in its core business and has had to expand and diversify in order to remain current. Over the past few years the company has provided the technology behind global stock exchanges and even a few cryptocurrency exchanges.
Looking at the sports betting market in the UK, it makes sense to partner with Football Index. The region shows a heavy focus on sports betting with 2018 figures showing a gross yield of 18bn.