The Premier League has been dragged into an investigation by the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) by freezing up to £10m worth of crypto in a bank which the league owns.
The Barclays bank account, which is under the name of The Football Association Premier League Limited., held up to £10m worth of crypto which was paid by Sorare, the blockchain-based digital collectibles firm who is reportedly under investigation by the NCA.
The NCA issued an order in January 2025 to freeze the assets as part of an investigation to determine whether there has been any third-party criminality involved in between the Premier League and Sorare.
The Sun reported Sorare has paid the Premier League £30m, or £120m in four years, across the recent partnership, with some funds being paid in crypto or other digital assets.
The agreement saw Sorare able to mint, issue and redeem digital collectible cards from all 20 Premier League teams per season. Fans were able to buy, sell, collect, and build teams with officially licensed digital player cards and compete with their teams in Sorare’s free fantasy football game for rewards.
The partnership, which was announced in January 2023, ended at the end of the 2025/26 Premier League season.
As to why the NCA froze the Premier League’s crypto holdings inside its Barclays bank account, a spokesperson said this was to prevent dissipation of the funds while the NCA investigates any potential links between those funds and alleged third-party criminality”.
The Sun is also reporting that there is nothing to suggest the Premier League has committed any wrongdoing.
Sorare’s past UK legal battle
In 2024, Sorare pleaded not guilty to a UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) charge of operating as an unlicensed gambling operator in the UK.
The charges relate to its core digital collectible offerings, which the UKGC accused the company of breaching the Gambling Act 2005 by “providing facilities for gambling without holding an operating licence”.
In response, Sorare issued a statement acknowledging the claims and expressing its intent to challenge them in court.
Sorare stated at the time: “The Commission has misunderstood our business and wrongly determined that gambling laws apply to Sorare. We cannot comment further whilst legal proceedings are underway.”
Sorare reiterated its position by formally pleading not guilty at Birmingham Magistrates Court in October 2024. The trial was set for June 2026, but was pushed back to June 2027.
The UKGC initially began investigating the French company in 2021 to assess whether it needed a licence to offer its services in the UK, leading to the current legal battle.
Why Premier League need to know new UK crypto regulations
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will launch the UK’s first crypto and digital asset regulatory framework in October 2027 to provide clear guidelines on how operators should act in its cryptoasset market.
In June 2026, the FCA wrote to the Premier League and its clubs to warn them of potentially signing sponsorship agreements with unauthorised crypto asset firms.
For a crypto company to be legally active in the UK, it must have the necessary electronic money institute (EMI) or cryptoasset licences to operate. Crypto firms in the UK that are legally active also comply with the FCA’s marketing and promotion rules put in place to ensure consumer protection.
An opening for Premier League sponsorship visibility has occurred this season as the 2026/27 season is the first to implement the ban on gambling front-of-shirt sponsorship.
However, only one Premier League club, Chelsea F.C., signed a front-of-shirt sponsorship deal with a crypto-adjacent firm. The London-based club inked a new deal with Circle to promote the company’s stablecoin, USDC.
Whilst not being branded on the front of shirts, OKX and Kraken can be seen on the sleeves of Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur, respectively.
