Premier League Has £10 Million Frozen In Illegal Gambling Probe

A digital trading card platform backed by Lionel Messi and other high-profile footballers is being investigated by the National Crime Agency over allegations of unlicensed gambling.

Sorare allows its customers to buy and sell virtual collectibles, which are housed on the brand’s own blockchain.

However, the company has been under investigation by the Gambling Commission since 2024, and the National Crime Agency – effectively the UK’s version of the FBI – has now sensationally frozen £10 million in cash held by the Premier League as the probe intensifies.

Sorare Under Investigation

Sorare was launched in 2019 to much fanfare, with big name stars like Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe brought on board as ambassadors.

However, it wasn’t long before they came into the crosshairs of their native French regulators, who investigated whether the game’s ‘reward mechanism’ fell under the description of gambling.

Undeterred, the English Premier League signed a commercial agreement with Sorare back in January 2023, worth an estimated £120 million over four years.

But it wouldn’t be long before the contract was torn up…

Alleged Gambling Act Breaches

The partnership between the Premier League and Sorare was quietly shelved earlier this year.

That followed a lengthy investigation by the Gambling Commission, who took Sorare’s directors to court in 2024 over allegations that it provided unlicensed gambling to customers in the UK.

The regulator claimed that the French firm was operating illegally by breaching sections 33 and 36 of the Gambling Act, which state that companies must have a valid licence to offer gambling facilities to British customers.

Sorare have long defended themselves against such accusations, claiming that their trading game does not fall under the categorisation of gambling.

However, they will still face their day in court: the hearing has been postponed countless times, but will now take place at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court in June 2027.

Premier League Frozen Assets

In the meantime, officials from the National Crime Agency have swooped.

They have now begun investigating Sorare independently of the Gambling Commission. In doing so, they have obtained an order from the courts that has allowed them access to the Barclays Bank accounts of the Premier League.

And they have frozen £10 million in cash under the Proceeds of Crime Act. That sum is reportedly the amount that Sorare paid to the EPL as the first down payment on their long-term commercial arrangement.

A spokesperson for the National Crime Agency commented that ‘the purpose of the order is to prevent dissipation of the funds while the NCA investigates any potential links between those funds and alleged third-party criminality.’

According to reports, the Premier League is planning to challenge the order and will appear in court next week to argue their case.

So Is Sorare Gambling?

Throughout their time under the microscope, Sorare have argued that their product is a game of skill, rather than a game of chance or ‘gambling’.

Players buy and sell digital cards depicting footballers from the top leagues around the world. Their worth is determined by real-world performances, with ‘managers’ able to enter their teams in tournaments in a bid to win prizes, which include cash and cryptocurrency.

A counter-argument could be that players are gambling on the performances of their players, with no guarantee of a return on their investment.

Sorare bears some similarities to Football Index, the UKGC licensed game that enabled players to buy and sell ‘shares’ in footballers – making a profit or a loss based on their real-world efforts.

A spokesperson for Sorare clarified:

• “We firmly deny any claims Sorare is a gambling product under UK laws.
• “The Gambling Commission has misunderstood our business and wrongly determined the laws apply to Sorare.
• “We cannot comment further whilst legal proceedings are under way.”