Sorare charged for unlicensed gambling services in the UK

• UK
  Gambling
  Commission
  charges
  Sorare
  for
  providing
  unlicensed
  gambling
  services.
• The
  United
  Kingdom’s
  Gambling
  Commission
  has
  been
  investigating
  Sorare
  for
  three
  years.
• Sorare
  denies
  wrongdoing,
  asserting
  it
  is
  not
  a
  gambling
  platform
  under
  UK
  law.

The
United
Kingdom’s
Gambling
Commission
has
taken
legal
action
against
Sorare,
a
blockchain-based
fantasy
sports
platform,
accusing
the
company
of
operating
unlicensed
gambling
facilities.

Sorare,
headquartered
in
France,
offers
non-fungible
tokens
(NFTs)
tied
to
fantasy
sports
teams
and
athlete
collectibles.
Following
the
Gambling
Commission’s
move,
the
platform
is
set
to
appear
in
a
UK
court
on
October
4.

The
Gambling
Commission
opened
its
investigation
into
Sorare
in
October
2021
but
has
largely
kept
its
findings
under
wraps.

As
of
July
2023,
the
Commission
had
not
made
its
conclusions
public,
instead
stating
that
it
would
engage
in
further
dialogue
with
operators
and
third
parties
before
reaching
a
final
verdict.

The
upcoming
court
battle
represents
the
culmination
of
nearly
three
years
of
regulatory
scrutiny.

What
is
Sorare?

Sorare,
founded
in
2018,
allows
users
to
collect
and
trade
digital
cards
in
the
form
of
NFTs.
These
cards
represent
real-life
athletes,
and
users
can
create
fantasy
teams
to
compete
based
on
the
players’
real-world
performances.

The
platform
covers
multiple
sports,
including
football,
basketball,
and
baseball.
Player
performance
in
actual
games
directly
impacts
the
fantasy
teams,
making
the
platform
interactive
for
users.

Sorare’s
NFT
cards
can
be
traded
or
sold,
sometimes
reaching
values
in
the
hundreds
of
thousands
of
dollars.

Sorare
denies
any
wrongdoing

In
response
to
the
charges,
Sorare
has
firmly
denied
any
wrongdoing.

In
a
public
statement
issued
by
the
company’s
spokesperson,
Sorare
has
argued
that
it
is
not
a
gambling
platform
under
UK
law
and
criticized
the
Gambling
Commission
for
misinterpreting
its
business
model.

As
quoted
by The
Guardian,
the
spokesperson said,
“We
firmly
deny
any
claims
that
Sorare
is
a
gambling
product
under
UK
laws.
The
Commission
has
misunderstood
our
business
and
wrongly
determined
that
gambling
laws
apply
to
Sorar.”

Sorare
has
faced
legal
challenges
before,
including
a

similar
case
in
France.
In
that
instance,
the
company
reached
a
settlement
before
the
matter
could
proceed
to
court.

Initially,
Sorare
only
accepted
cryptocurrency
payments
for
transactions
on
its
platform.
However,
in
2023,
the
company
expanded
its
payment
options
to
include
traditional
fiat
currencies
in
an
effort
to
increase
user
adoption.

The
outcome
of
the
UK
case
could
have
significant
implications
for
Sorare
and
the
broader
NFT
gaming
industry,
which
continues
to
blur
the
lines
between
collectibles,
gaming,
and
gambling.