ABOUT SPORTING INDEX
Sporting Index is the world’s largest sports spread betting company, specialising in sports and event spread betting. Founded in 1992, Sporting Index has established itself as the market leader in the sports spread betting market with an estimated UK market share of over 70%.
The company has approximately 110 employees who are all based in its London office. It offers sports spread bets on a number of sports including football, racing, rugby, cricket, golf, tennis, various American sports and a portfolio of games. The company also offers spread bets on events such as the General Election, Big Brother, I’m a Celebrity and the Eurovision Song Contest.
As part of its drive to take sports spread betting to a wider mark, Sporting Index positions spread betting as an entertainment product and the perfect accompaniment to live sport. The company enables clients to trade on their sporting passions, and challenge its predictions, whenever and wherever they want.
The company transacts predominantly through its websites, with online spread betting becoming increasingly popular although Sporting Index also offers customers the facility to bet using a unique application on their mobile phones as well as a 24/7 telephone betting service.
Duke Street Capital, a UK private equity firm, backed a management buyout of Sporting Index in 2002 for £53 million (inclusive of free cash).
Hg Capital acquired the company from Duke Street Capital as part of a secondary buyout for a total cash consideration of £75.8 million in November 2005.
Sporting Index, as a reputable spread betting firm, is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA).
Sporting Index’s key milestones to date are:
April 1992
Sporting Index established to specialise in sports spread betting with just 5 members of staff.
July 2001
Sporting Index launched the first fully interactive internet based sports spread betting service.
January 2003
Sporting Index launched bethilo as a revolutionary new way to sports spread bet. Bethilo simplifies online spread betting for the mass market by removing jargon and allowing sports fans to place a spread bet online from as little as 1p.
March 2003
Duke Street Capital completed the acquisition of Sporting Index for £53m
through a management buyout.
November 2003
Sporting Index unveiled ‘Bet on the Move’, providing mobile phone users with the UK’s first Java enabled real-time sports spread betting service.
August 2004
Sporting Index enhanced its reputation as an innovative spread betting company by launching the world’s first ever spread betting games, offering clients the opportunity to spread bet on quick to play random number generated games.
February 2005
Sporting Index voted sports spread betting firm of the year by the readers of Inside Edge magazine.
November 2005
Hg Capital, a European sector-focused private equity investor, supported by the management, agreed to acquire Sporting Index from Duke Street Capital as part of a secondary buyout for a total cash consideration of £75.8 million.
January 2006
Sporting Index voted sports spread betting firm of the year at the UK Gambling Awards.
September 2006
Sporting Index launched ‘Games on the Move’ which allows clients to play spread betting games through their mobile phones.
October 2006
Sporting Index Poker is launched allowing Sporting Index clients to play live, person to person poker.
March 2007
Sporting Index launched their first ever dedicated international online spread betting site – sportingindex.ie – featuring Irish specific content.
Section 3: History of Spread Betting
