Swiss lottery and gambling authority Gespa has filed a formal criminal complaint regarding the international soccer governing body’s blockchain collectibles platform FIFA Collect, the organization announced on Friday.
authority We have begun initial evaluation and preliminary research for FIFA Collect. and its “Right to Buy” ticket NFTs and other services were announced in early October. decryption He said it “cannot be ruled out” whether the platform’s offerings are relevant to Swiss gambling regulations.
After conducting a deeper investigation, we are currently reporting the collectibles platform to the relevant authorities.
“During the investigation, it was confirmed that collect.fifa.com is suspected of offering gambling services that are not licensed in Switzerland and are therefore illegal,” Gespa said in a written statement. “If Gespa becomes aware of a violation of federal gambling law, it is obligated to notify the competent prosecutor’s office.”
Participation in some contests offering financial benefits on the platform is only possible “in exchange for a financial stake,” with the final reward provided through a random draw or similar procedure, the regulator said.
“From a gambling law perspective, the offer in question is part lottery and part sports betting (rights to final),” the newspaper said.
Manuel Richard, director of Gespa, said further information regarding the criminal charges and legal proceedings is not being shared at this time. decryption.
The “right of final decision” officials are referring to is a new collectible type offered by FIFA called “right to buy” (RTB). This collectible designation will give NFT holders the opportunity to purchase from a designated allocation of FIFA World Cup tickets for the upcoming 2026 World Cup to be held across North America.
RTB collectibles ensure users can skip the typical queues of prospective ticket buyers and can be purchased or published from collectibles packs on the platform or purchased on the secondary market.
in secondary marketthese collectibles range in price from about $98 for the right to buy a ticket to the group game round in Houston to $6,000 for the right to buy a ticket to the opening game at Mexico’s Azteca Stadium.
FIFA sells tickets for the world’s biggest soccer sporting event in multiple tiers. The organization has recently sold over 1 million tickets Through Visa’s early pre-sale.
The soccer organization’s blockchain collection platform was originally algorand 2022 but early this year FIFA announces withdrawal From proof-of-stake blockchain. Instead, FIFA chose to: Create your own Avalanche L1 network to support the platform.
A FIFA representative did not immediately respond. of decryption Request for comments.