The Premier League has picked four blockchain businesses for its NFT licence. Sorare creates digital trade cards, which may be collected or used to create “teams” in fantasy soccer games.
Because the UK Gambling Commission is already “conducting out enquiries” into the French company’s business strategy, a purchase would be fraught with risk. While no formal inquiry has been begun, the regulator is attempting to ascertain if Sorare’s services, like conventional fantasy sports models, need a pool betting licence.
The successful bidder for the Premier League’s digital collectibles, which will be made available to teams by the end of February, will reportedly be awarded an official licence to produce a range of blockchain-based products, including NFTs based on Panini stickers.
The EPL is eager to capitalise on the rapidly growing NFT sector. NFTs are a kind of digital token that may be used to represent ownership of a virtual object, such as a collection of sports trading cards or a work of art. Due to the fact that ownership is recorded on the blockchain, the digital ledger of transactions that underpins cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, each NFT is unique and uncopyable.
So what is Sorare?
You may create your own fantasy football team from a pool of players and compete against other players in leagues. It allows users to play the game while simultaneously owning the in-game assets as NFTs on the Ethereum blockchain.
Sorare is free to join and open to all football fans. You may buy and sell NFTs to engage in fantasy football contests and win prizes.
New trading cards are created and sold to generate money. Users may either collect cards or join a “team” of players to get points. Their non-cash prizes come from leagues and tournaments.
However, the existence of Sorare remains debatable. An inquiry was opened against the French company in October after it launched a blockchain-based fantasy soccer game without a UK licence. This inquiry is ongoing.
The Gambling Commission advised fans not to use an unregulated site at the time.