Competition Concerns Over Sporting Index-Spreadex Merger, Says CMA
There is more bad news for Spreadex after the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) aired concerns over its merger with Sporting Index.
Spreadex’s merger with Sporting Index may be in doubt. © Lukas Blazek, Unsplash
Key Facts:
- Spreadex and Sporting Index both offer spread betting
- This part of the betting market remains fairly niche in the UK
- CMA says that the merger deal has competition concerns
- Spreadex was recently fined £2 million by the Gambling Commission due to a range of failings at the firm
Both Sporting Index and Spreadex provide spread betting markets, a niche but growing part of the UK’s online gambling industry. They are the only two spread betting providers in the UK.
In 2023, the French company Francaise des Jeux agreed to a deal to sell Sporting Index to Spreadex. However, a short time later, the CMA launched an investigation into the merger to see whether it should proceed.
The CMA previously said it had found the merger of the two operators created a monopoly and said Spreadex should have to sell Sporting Index. Still, an appeal to the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) saw the verdict quashed and returned to the CMA.
A new statement from the CMA into the merger said: “The CMA has provisionally found competition concerns as part of its remittal investigation of the completed acquisition by Spreadex Limited of the B2C business of Sporting Index Limited.”
Sticky Spell For Spreadex
The CMA ruling on the merger with Sporting Index came shortly after Spreadex landed in hot water with the UK’s betting industry regulator, the Gambling Commission.
Spreadex was ordered to pay a fine of £2 million due to a range of social responsibility and money laundering failures.
The Gambling Commission previously told Spreadex to pay a £1.36 million regulatory settlement for social responsibility and anti-money laundering failures in 2022.
Its latest punishment comes after a compliance audit that was carried out in July 2023.
However, Spreadex has also won some recognition from the industry during what has been a difficult period for the company, winning the Best Spread Betting Platform prize at the 2025 ADVFN Awards.
Spreadex-Sporting Index Merger: What Happens Next?
Following the latest CMA recommendation, Spreadex has been given a deadline of June 19 to submit responses.
Furthermore, the company has got until June 26 to submit responses to the remittal’s provisional findings, providing arguments as to why the merger should be allowed.
Spreadex previously asked for the CMA to come to a “proportionate and common-sense decision” following the CAT decision in March.
The company has yet to provide a comment on the latest ruling, but the sale of Sporting Index’s assets to a purchaser that would need to be approved by the CMA is now a possibility.
Sporting Index, which has its headquarters in London, was founded in 1992, and the site launched its new fixed odds product six years ago.
