UKGC Prosecutes Sorare for Unlicensed Gambling
The United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC) has announced it is prosecuting fantasy sports platform Sorare for running an unlicensed gambling operation in the UK.
Fantasy football platform Sorare charged with unlicensed gambling in the UK.
LISTEN TO THIS ARTICLE:The Sorare.com website boasts it has reinvented fantasy sports and allows participants to pick and manage five-a-side football teams by trading digital players. The crypto-based offering also focuses on the sports of basketball and baseball. Fantasy sports give winners the chance to have VIP experiences or win prizes.
This popular sports site is backed by the English Premier League and has many well-known sports celebrities as investors including Lionel Messi and Serena Williams. This has led to the fantasy sports platform being valued at more than $4 billion.
The UKGC has charged Sorare with breaches of the Gambling Act and the fantasy football platform has been ordered to appear in court next week, on October 4th, to answer these charges. This is the culmination of an investigation started by the UKGC in 2021 when it expressed concerns that some of the activities on the Sorare.com website required a gambling license.
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Sorare Spokeperson Denies Gambling Charge
The Sorare platform has rigorously defended its platform and believes that as the individuals who participate in the games are playing for VIP rewards and cash prizes their activities are not covered by UK gambling laws. As well as cryptocurrency the Sorare platform also uses non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on the website.
We are aware of the claims made by the Gambling Commission and have instructed our UK counsel to challenge them. 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 Sorare. We cannot comment further whilst legal proceedings are under way.
Earlier this year the UKGC commissioned a report to find out the level of gambling activity in the region.
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