More than 10 million pounds held by the English Premier League will remain frozen for an additional four months, with the continuation of an international criminal investigation linked to “Sorare”, the former partner in fantasy and digital card games. FAccording to the “Global Gaming Insider” website, in January 2026, the National Crime Agency in Britain “NCA” obtained an order to freeze an account containing 10,024,041.33 pounds sterling, in addition to the accumulated interest. The Westminster District Court decided to extend this measure at the request of the agency, while the British authorities and their counterparts in Luxembourg continue the investigation.
Judge Sam Guzzi said the freeze was necessary to prevent the dissipation of funds suspected to be the proceeds of criminal conduct. But at the same time, the court clarified that there is no indication that the English Premier League itself committed any legal violation.
The case dates back to years of scrutiny of the regulatory status of Sorare within Britain. Since 2021, the British Gambling Commission began studying whether the company’s services fall within gambling activities, before later accusing the French operator of providing gambling facilities without a license, under the Gambling Act of 2005.
In 2023, “Sorare” signed a 4-year agreement with the English Premier League, said to be worth £120 million, to produce licensed digital cards for league players on its fantasy game platform.
The court heard that the English Premier League continued to receive payments until June 2025, and that “Sorare” still owes it an amount of 7.5 million pounds related to the 2025-2026 season.
The Gambling Commission’s prosecution remains separate from the National Crime Agency’s investigation. As for Sorare’s trial before Birmingham District Court, which was scheduled for June 2026, it was postponed to June 7, 2027.
The case comes at a time of increasing pressure on English football’s relationships with gambling companies. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has conducted consultations to make it a criminal offense for clubs and sports bodies to advertise unlicensed gambling companies, or accept sponsorship. The preferred date for implementing this is August 2027, before the start of the 2027-2028 season.
Despite these measures, “Sorare” continues to operate its platform, and during 2026 it introduced new game formats and updates to the football product, including the “Sorare Set” format and the “Sorare 27” season.
