UK National Crime Agency freezes £13.6 million Premier League payment in Sorare gambling probe
The UK National Crime Agency froze £13.6 million in Premier League licensing funds from a £140 million sponsorship deal with crypto-gaming platform Sorare, which faces gambling prosecution. The seizure is the first major enforcement action targeting a major sports licensing partnership in crypto.
The UK National Crime Agency froze £13.6 million in Premier League licensing revenue as part of its probe into Sorare, the Messi-backed fantasy card platform facing gambling prosecution, according to Decrypt. The sum represents the first payment under a £140 million (approximately $163 million) sponsorship agreement between the league and the crypto-gaming firm.
Law enforcement confirmed the Premier League itself has no wrongdoing. The seizure targets Sorare's conduct and the franchise's revenue from it. By freezing funds owed to the league rather than seizing Sorare's direct assets, authorities created a constraint on the platform's primary revenue stream from one of its highest-profile partnerships.
The move signals that major sports licensing deals do not insulate crypto platforms from enforcement action. Authorities are targeting hybrid gaming-NFT products that blur gambling and investment lines, and the freeze demonstrates regulators will pursue revenue flows into platforms under investigation, not just assets held by the platforms themselves.
Neither Sorare nor the Premier League has publicly responded to the freeze. The specific gambling charges Sorare faces and whether the entire £140 million deal will be frozen remain undisclosed.
The NCA froze £13.6 million, the first tranche of a £140 million Premier League sponsorship deal with Sorare, amid gambling charges against the platform.
The legal basis for freezing funds owed to the Premier League rather than directly seizing Sorare's assets, and the scope of any future freezes against the remainder of the sponsorship agreement, will clarify whether this is an isolated financial maneuver or a template for prosecuting platform-league partnerships.
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