NFT Platform Sorare is Being Investigated by the U.K. Gambling Commission

Sorare NFT Platform Under Investigation by U.K's Gambling Regulator

In a consumer information notice from Oct. 8, the U.K. Gambling Commission warned that Sorare’s business operates “outside of the gambling regulations that a licensed operator should comply with” and that consumers are advised to take this into account when deciding whether or not to use the platform.

In its official statement regarding the investigation, Sorare clarified that it's “very confident it does not offer any forms of regulated gambling” and that it has confirmed this with legal experts since the company’s inception.

While the company doesn’t offer any traditional forms of sports gambling, the speculative nature of its digital trading cards, whose values are largely driven by player performance perhaps caught the regulator's eye.

Sorare added that “we will always engage and have an open dialogue with authorities who reach out to us to learn more about our game. We believe this is the responsible way to grow our game and community globally.”

The Marketplace Values Over $4.3 Billion

In September, Sorare had raised $680 million in a Series B funding round at a $4.3 billion valuation and has since grown to become one of the largest NFT platforms. In 2020, the firm had raised $4 million in seed funding before going on to raise a $5o million series A and a $680 million Series B round led by SoftBank in 2021.

The platform enables soccer fans to trade NFT cards of popular players powered by the Ethereum blockchain which operates much like other fantasy sports websites. Since its launch, more than 120 football clubs have launched player NFTs on the platform.