Fifa sued over blockchain ticket sales
Switzerland’s gambling regulator has filed a criminal complaint against FIFA, accusing football’s global governing body of running unlicensed gambling operations through its blockchain-based ticketing initiative.
The Swiss Gambling Supervisory Authority, known as Gespa, said the FIFA Collect platform, which allowed fans to buy digital tokens tied to World Cup 2026 tickets, constituted “gambling services that are not licensed in Switzerland and are therefore illegal,” according to a statement on its website.
Gespa launched its investigation earlier this month after a Bloomberg News query into the sale of the so-called “Right to Buy” tokens, which gave fans early access to purchase tickets for the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
Last year, FIFA introduced the platform to “simplify the ticket acquisition process for fans,” replacing its traditional lottery-style sales structure. Each Right to Buy token guaranteed holders the ability to purchase a ticket for a particular match once sales opened, even though the seat and participating teams were unknown at the time.
These tokens were tradeable on secondary markets, where prices reportedly reached hundreds or thousands of dollars. Certain tokens were linked to national teams, including the “Right to Final” token, which cost $999 and granted fans the opportunity to buy a ticket to the final only if their chosen team qualified.
Gespa said, “From a gambling law perspective, the offers in question are partly lotteries and partly sports betting (Right to Final).” The regulator added that it is “obliged to notify competent prosecution authorities if it becomes aware of violations of Switzerland’s federal gambling law.”
According to Gespa, Swiss-based companies found to be violating gambling regulations can be ordered to cease illegal activities, but “the final criminal assessment is the responsibility of the law enforcement authorities.”
FIFA has not yet commented on the complaint.
