Swiss regulator GESPA takes aim at FIFA’s NFT platform in formal complaint

Switzerland’s Gambling Supervisory Authority (GESPA) has filed a formal complaint against FIFA’s NFT platform, FIFA Collect, asserting that its competitions, which involve user rewards via airdrops and challenges, constitute unlicensed gambling under Swiss law due to the element of chance in claiming prizes.

GESPA stated that participation requires a monetary stake for a chance to win monetary benefits, classifying the offers partly as lotteries and partly as sports betting, noting that Switzerland only has two regulated nationwide sports gambling providers. The regulator had previously launched an investigation into FIFA Collect in October regarding its “Right to Buy” NFTs, which grant holders the right to purchase 2026 World Cup tickets at face value.

FIFA Collect, launched in 2022 on the Algorand blockchain, is powered by Web3 service provider Modex, and FIFA plans to migrate the platform to its own layer-1 subnet on the Avalanche network. This regulatory action highlights ongoing legal challenges as authorities attempt to fit emerging Web3 technologies within existing regulatory frameworks.

(Source：Cointelegraph)