Sorare, a fantasy sports company, was charged with providing unlicensed gambling facilities in the U.K. in the Gambling Commission’s first action against a blockchain-based platform.
The company, based in Saint-Mande, France, operates fantasy soccer, basketball and baseball games that allow participants to buy and sell collectible cards using non-fungible tokens (NFTs). It has inked deals with the English Premier League and Germany’s Bundesliga, among other national sporting associations. NFTs are unique digital tokens used to represent assets.
“Sorare is charged with providing facilities for gambling without holding an operating licence,” the commission said on its website. The company will have to appear on Oct. 4 in Birmingham Magistrates’ Court.
The charges follow an almost three-year inquiry by the regulator. In 2021 the commission said it was looking into whether Sorare needed a gambling license. The case is the first time it has clamped down on the use of a blockchain-based platform and the outcome could set a precedent for how regulators handle Web3 firms in the future.
It is also another sign suggesting U.K. regulators are taking more enforcement action against suspected illicit activity in the crypto space following a swoop on unregulated crypto ATM’s.
“We firmly deny any claims that Sorare is a gambling product under U.K. laws,” a Sorare spokesperson said. “The Commission has misunderstood our business and wrongly determined that gambling laws apply to Sorare.”
