Swiss Gambling Authorities File Charges Against FIFA World Cup NFT Platform

Coinspeaker2025/10/16 16:00

By:By Ibrahim Ajibade Editor Marco T. Lanz

Switzerland’s gambling authority has taken legal action against FIFA’s blockchain NFT platform, alleging it operated unlicensed lottery and betting mechanics through digital collectible drops and challenges.

Bitget offers one-stop trading for cryptocurrencies, stocks, and gold. Trade now!

A welcome pack worth 6200 USDT for new users! Sign up now!

Key Notes

Gespa determined FIFA Collect's random draw system for NFT distribution constitutes illegal gambling under Swiss Federal Act without proper licensing.
The platform generated $52 million in total volume across 2.2 million minted NFTs, peaking at $9.6 million in September during Ballon d'Or festivities.
Legal proceedings now move to Swiss prosecutors while the NFT marketplace remains operational and has not issued a public response.

The Swiss Gambling Supervisory Authority (Gespa) has lodged a criminal complaint against FIFA Collect, an NFT platform affiliated with the FIFA World Cup, after concluding that the project violated its national gambling laws.

Gespa Files Criminal Complaint Against FIFA’s Blockchain-Based NFT Platform

In a filing dated on Oct. 17 , Gespa’s investigation confirmed collect.fifa.com operated without a license while offering gambling-style services to users. The platform reportedly allowed participants to pay entry fees to join digital “drops” and “challenges” tied to NFT collectibles, where winners were chosen through random draws or chance-based mechanics.

According to Gespa, these mechanisms meet the legal criteria for lotteries and sports betting under Swiss law, both of which require prior regulatory authorization.

Gespa mentioned the agency was first alerted to the platform’s operations in early October 2025, prompting a formal probe into the blockchain-based system. The final legal assessment and enforcement actions now rest with Switzerland’s public prosecutors, who may call on Gespa for technical or regulatory assistance during the investigation, as permitted under Article 135(1) of the gambling statute.

Ballon d’Or Frenzy Drove FIFA Collect NFT Sales to $52M

As of press time, FIFA Collect has not responded to Gespa’s complaint, while the NFT platform remains active and operational.

According to its website, FIFA Collect allows fans to acquire iconic football digital collectibles, unlock exclusive World Cup rewards, and secure match tickets for the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2026 through “Right-to-Buys” (RTBs).

Swiss Gambling Authorities File Charges Against FIFA World Cup NFT Platform image 0

FIFA Collect NFT performance dashboard as of Oct. 17, 2025 | Source: FIFACollect.info

The platform has minted 2,257,257 NFTs to date, representing an approximate total volume of $52 million. Monthly NFT sales hit an all-time high volume of $9.6 million in September, when users minted 156,443 collectibles as the Ballon d’Or 2025 ceremony sparked fan engagement frenzy.

Switzerland’s regulatory openness towards cryptocurrencies remains positive in 2025. The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) issued the first license for a DLT trading facility to BX Digital on March 18, 2025. The license became legally effective on May 14, 2025, after FINMA confirmed all conditions were met.

Maxi Doge走势与NFT行业监管压力

随着NFT收藏品领域的法律审查日益加剧，交易者开始转向早期阶段的模因币如Maxi Doge [NC]。该代币的主要吸引力在于其1000倍杠杆选项，无止损限制，满足了因市场情绪疲软而被边缘化的高风险交易者需求，同时比特币BTC $106 804 24h波动率：0.2% 市值：$2.13 T 24小时成交量：$44.32 B价格跌破$105,000。

Swiss Gambling Authorities File Charges Against FIFA World Cup NFT Platform image 1

Maxi Doge动态

Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.

Understand the market, then trade.

Bitget offers one-stop trading for cryptocurrencies, stocks, and gold.

Trade now！

1. Crypto outperformed traditional equity indexes following the rate hike, but elevated interest rates remain a key constraint on cross-asset allocation. From September 12 to 18, BTC, ETH, and SOL gained 4.83%, 3.84%, and 9.96%, respectively, while the S&P 500 edged down 0.08%. The U.S. Dollar Index rose 1.11%, and the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield closed at approximately 4.998%. Improving risk appetite is therefore coexisting with elevated discount rates, raising the bar for RWA allocation: investors need to compare not only returns on the underlying assets, but also on-chain liquidity and collateral efficiency. 2. Growth in tokenized equities is occurring even as the overall RWA market remains under pressure. As of September 18, Distributed Asset Value across RWAs stood at $38.503 billion, down 1.13% week over week, while tokenized equities reached $3.056 billion, up 6.03%. This week's data are better explained by capital reallocating across different RWA segments than by a broad-based expansion of the entire RWA market. 3. For exchanges, the opportunity lies in connecting spot holdings, collateral, and derivatives. Reality's distributed asset value stands at approximately $155 million, while eligible rTokens can already be used within Bitget's UTA margin framework. Across CoinGlass's verifiable sample of 177 TradFi instruments, open interest reached approximately $11.498 billion, up 2.06% week over week, even as weekly trading volume declined 7.60%. The medium-term opportunity remains intact, but deeper utilization will depend on liquidity, collateral use, and sustained trading activity. 4.Assets to watch: BTC, ETH, SOL, NEAR, ZEC, gold, tokenized U.S. equities, COST. 5.Key metrics to watch: rToken collateral utilization, the durability of TradFi open interest and trading volume, and next week's employment and consumer data.

Bitget•2026/09/21 06:38