Quick take:
- The French National Gambling Authority (ANJ) is bringing Sorare into its regulatory framework.
- The ANJ wants to prevent gambling and money laundering from happening on Sorare.
- Sorare has to implement the free access expansion by March 31, 2023.
NFT fantasy sports game, Sorare, is expanding free access as it responds to the French National Gambling Authority’s (ANJ) concerns about gambling addiction, child protection and money laundering on the platform.
According to ANJ, the response is a “transitional but essential step” before Sorare adopts a long-lasting solution which would require an adaptation of the legislation to bring new Web3 activities such as NFT games into France’s regulatory framework.
“The solution chosen constitutes a necessary regulatory response to the offer proposed by the SORARE company and, more generally, to the emergence of new comparable offers, with a view to effectively protecting the public but also to supporting innovation,” ANJ said in a statement.
In a written question to the government published on Nov 8, Senator Jérôme Durain said the game “seems to combine all the criteria of a gambling game within the meaning of the internal security code” due to the fact that Sorare claims that players can win thousands of euros worth of crypto by playing the game.
Durain called for checks on compliance with the ban of Sorare’s access to minors; to prevent money laundering through the purchase and resale of trading cards; to check that there is no fraud or insider trading, and to ensure that there are no cases of gambling addiction.
The ANJ stated that Sorare must implement the free access expansion by March 31, 2023l otherwise, the Authority would exercise the powers it holds by law.
During the transition period, the ANJ will put in place an ad hoc control system Sorare’s activities and will ensure the correct implementation of the free access and Sorare’s objectives of protecting minors, preventing excessive gambling, maintaining the integrity and transparency of gambling operations and the fight against fraud and money laundering.
Sorare’s co-founder and CEO Nicolas Julia said in a LinkedIn post that “when a company invents a new model based on a nascent technology and is successful, it is not surprising that it raises questions.”
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