The UK’s Gambling Commission has charged Sorare, a blockchain-based fantasy sports operator, with operating unlicensed gambling services. The France-based company, which allows users to buy and trade digital athlete cards as NFTs, will appear in court on October 4.
Sorare offers fantasy sports competitions using NFTs, with performance tied to real-world athlete stats. Players can participate in football, baseball, and basketball competitions, with some of the digital cards reaching values of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Sorare denies the charges, arguing that the Gambling Commission has misunderstood their business model and wrongfully categorized it as gambling under UK law.
This legal action follows an investigation launched by the commission in October 2021. Sorare has faced similar challenges in France, where it settled the case before reaching court. Sorare initially accepted only cryptocurrency, but since 2023, it has allowed fiat currency to encourage wider adoption.