The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has ruled that Spreadex’s 2023 acquisition of Sporting Index’s consumer business eliminated the only rival in the country’s licensed online sports spread-betting market. Following a renewed review, the watchdog concluded that the deal “substantially lessens competition” and that divestment is the only effective fix. Spreadex, which maintains the target was a failing firm and the decision “entirely disproportionate,” says it is reviewing its options.

What the CMA Decided and Why

An independent CMA panel found the combination reduced the number of specialist sports spread-betting providers from two to one, creating a monopoly and risking tangible harm for customers through poorer experiences, a narrower product set, and potentially higher prices. As PA Media reports via Yahoo Finance, as panel chair Richard Feasey put it: “We found that the merger substantially lessens competition by removing Spreadex’s only competitor in the sports spread betting market in the UK.

“We also found that the only effective remedy would be for Spreadex to sell Sporting Index to restore competition in the supply of licensed online sports spread betting in the UK.

“Doing so would mean customers in the UK have greater choice between two independent businesses, rather than one.”

Sports spread betting differs from fixed-odds wagering by allowing stakes on a range of outcomes; returns can scale with how close the prediction lands to the result, but losses can also exceed the initial stake. The CMA’s concern focuses on the reduced rivalry within this niche, licensed segment rather than the fixed-odds market more broadly.

The regulator first determined in 2024 that the merger harmed competition and proposed a sale. Spreadex appealed to the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT), which in March 2025 sent the case back for further consideration. After reassessing additional evidence, the CMA’s independent panel reached the same substantive conclusion: with Sporting Index absorbed, no credible competitor remains for Spreadex in UK-licensed online sports spread betting.

With Friday’s final report (pdf) issued, procedural next steps are set. The CMA said it will either accept undertakings from Spreadex to divest Sporting Index or, if necessary, require a sale to a buyer approved by the authority. Either route is aimed at recreating the two-player structure the panel says is vital for preserving choice and competitive pressure in this narrow market.

Spreadex’s Response and the Road Ahead

Spreadex has been forthright in its opposition. A spokesperson stated, “Spreadex strongly disagrees with this entirely disproportionate decision and are reviewing all available options.” In a fuller statement, the company described itself as “extremely disappointed,” arguing it had “co-operated and engaged positively with the CMA throughout what has now been a 20-month review period into an immaterial transaction involving a failing firm serving a very small number of customers in a tiny sub-section of the UK sports betting market.” It added: “Sporting Index’s customers have greatly benefited from Spreadex’s infrastructure, resources, improved services, and increased oversight since the acquisition,” and reiterated that it “recognised the importance of the CMA’s role in protecting and promoting competition” while maintaining the review was “wholly disproportionate.”

For customers of UK-licensed online sports spread-betting services, the immediate impact hinges on the mechanics and timing of any divestment. The CMA’s preferred remedy—returning Sporting Index to independent ownership—would, in its view, restore head-to-head competition on product, pricing, and service quality. Until undertakings are accepted or a mandated sale is executed, however, the transaction remains under the regulator’s remedial spotlight.