Sorare has reiterated that none of its services fall under regulated gambling
The UK Gambling regulator has said it is investigating Sorare, a fantasy football platform for non-fungible tokens (NFT), for possible illegal gambling.
In a notice warning UK users of the platform, the Gambling Commission stated that Sorare is not registered and that all activities accessible to UK users are therefore offered outside the regulations of the country.
According to the regulator, British citizens should take into account the facts before they Sorare.com benefits.
Sorare responds to the demands of the investigation
Due to the Gambling Commission’s concerns about Sorare, an investigation is underway to determine whether the NFT platform, based in France, needs a license to operate in the United Kingdom. The Commission’s investigation is also aimed at determining whether Sorare’s services constitute gambling or not.
“We will not comment further until these investigations are completed”, this is what the Commission says in its communication to consumers.
However, Sorare has issued an official statement saying that none of the activities and services offered on the platform constitute regulated gambling.
“We are very confident that Sorare does not offer any forms of regulated gambling. This has been confirmed by legal opinions at every stage since the establishment of the company, including during several rounds of fundraising”, writes the NFT platform in a blog post.
Noting the rapid growth of the trading card and gaming ecosystem, Sorare said it was “normal”, that there are some regulatory issues. The platform therefore welcomes any regulatory review, but believes that it is a “open dialogue” that contributes to the growth of the system.
Launched in 2018, Sorare offers an online NFT gaming experience where users buy licensed cards depicting football players. The value of the cards increases speculatively and is traded on marketplaces.
The company received $680 million from SoftBank and other participants in its Series B round in September, while one of its largest partnerships is with French sports giant L’Equipe.