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Switzerland’s gambling regulator has launched a probe into the sales of FIFA-backed blockchain tokens ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
The regulator, Gespa, typically oversees lotteries and sports betting. The probe aims to uncover whether FIFA is selling the chance to win tickets to World Cup matches, or offering something like gambling services. If it’s the latter, the regulator needs to establish if FIFA complied with local rules.
Gespa director Manual Richard shared an email statement with Bloomberg, writing: “Based on an initial internal assessment, it cannot be ruled out that the offering on collect.fifa.com may be relevant under gambling legislation. Gespa will now proceed with further fact-finding to determine whether regulatory action is required.”
As it stands, FIFA has not been accused of any wrongdoing at this early stage.
How do the tokens work?
The sale of the Right-To-Buy tokens gives buyers the right to purchase guaranteed entry to a World Cup game. Token holders can buy a ticket for a specific match (even if the teams and seats are not yet known) or trade them on secondary markets.
Some tokens are tied to a specific national squad or match, but come with more risks attached. As one example, the Right to Final token guarantees a chance to buy a final ticket but only if the team whose token they’ve bought makes it that far.
That means that some tokens may not lead to a match, depending on the stipulations that are attached. According to the Athletic, tens of thousands of Right to Buy tokens have been sold by FIFA, earning the organization an estimated $15 million.
While Gespa doesn’t have direct jurisdiction over FIFA, it can order Swiss-based companies to block any wrongdoing, such as asking Switzerland-based internet providers to block access to FIFA, if violations of local gaming laws are found.
Featured image: Raw Pixel, licensed under CC0 1.0
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A Nevada federal court judge has denied Crypto.com’s bid for an injunction that would allow it to run sports contracts.
Judge Andrew Gordon refused the injunction that would have allowed the company to continue operating contracts for sports events in the state. This comes as something of a surprise to the industry, considering prediction market Kalshi has been allowed to operate very similar services.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board first banned Crypto.com from sports outcome contracts in June 2025, stating that such contracts need to be classified as federally regulated swaps, rather than gambling products. This put them under the powers of the CFTC.
Crypto.com versus Kalshi in Nevada
While Judge Gordon agreed that the CFTC had jurisdiction in Kalshi’s case, he didn’t apply the same argument to Crypto.com. Instead, the judge maintained that Crypto.com’s sports prediction contracts are based on the outcomes of sporting events rather than their occurrence or non-occurrence.

NEW: Nevada federal judge explains on the record that because https://t.co/jeBmEO4GSa’s sports prediction contracts are based on the “outcomes” of sporting events rather than their “occurrence” or “non-occurrence” they do not qualify as “swaps” under the CEA. pic.twitter.com/RrMyytB2ZC
— Daniel Wallach (@WALLACHLEGAL) October 6, 2025

“I see ‘outcome’ as different than ‘occurrence, non-occurrence, or extent of contingency of occurrence,’” said Judge Gordon, according to court records. “They’re just different things. If they were all the same, everything would be a swap, and that’s not what I think Congress intended or the CFTC intended.”
That means that they do not qualify as swaps under the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA). Crypto.com intends to appeal the decision from Judge Gordon before the Ninth Circuit. This could be because the CFTC is under increasing pressure from traditional sports betting operators to decide whether such sports contracts are legal or not, with that determination still pending.
The competition to get into sports contracts is heating up, with Polymarket also taking its first steps to launch legal sports betting options. It’s raised concerns among regulators – but doesn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon.
Featured image: Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
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