TL;DR:
- GESPA filed a complaint against FIFA Collect for offering unlicensed gambling in Switzerland.
- NFT competitions with cash payments and prizes are considered lotteries or gambling under Swiss law.
- Created to bring FIFA closer to the Web3 world, FIFA Collect moved from Algorand to Polygon and plans to migrate to its own Avalanche network, but now faces potential criminal liability that could jeopardize its digital future.
The digital glamour that FIFA wanted to add to the World Cup with its NFT collection could have turned into a serious legal problem. The Swiss Gaming Supervisory Authority, known as GESPA, has filed a criminal complaint against the FIFA Collect platform, alleging that it offers unlicensed betting services in Switzerland. The investigation, which calls into question FIFA’s enthusiasm for digital innovation, opens a new front in the relationship between sport, technology, and regulation.
GESPA accuses FIFA Collect for operating unlicensed gambling games
GESPA explained that it became aware of the collect.fifa.com platform in early October, after detecting online competitions with “drops” and “challenges” in which users participate by paying a sum of money and can win cash prizes. According to the agency, the random nature of the results makes some of the activities lotteries and some sports betting, both of which are regulated by the Swiss Federal Gaming Act.
The authority concluded that FIFA Collect operates without the proper license and is therefore illegal in Swiss territory. In compliance with its legal obligations, GESPA referred the case to the public prosecutor’s office to determine whether there are any criminal liabilities. So far, FIFA has not issued any comments in response to press inquiries.
The FIFA Collect project was launched in 2022, ahead of the World Cup in Qatar, as a way to allow fans to “own a piece of the tournament.” It was initially launched on Algorand and migrated to Polygon in 2023, offering rewards that included tickets to the 2026 World Cup. In the words of FIFA’s chief business officer, Romy Gai, the initiative sought to “democratize” access to sports collectibles, comparing them to traditional trading cards and memorabilia.
In early 2024, the organization announced its own Avalanche-based blockchain ecosystem, under the name “FIFA Blockchain,” with the intention of hosting future collections there. However, GESPA’s complaint marks a turning point in that technological ambition.
