NFT fantasy betting operator accounts reveal worrying state of one-time French unicorn’s
finances
Jake Pollard
Despite a bevvy of superstar footballers linked to its project, the NFT-powered fantasy betting operator Sorare is struggling to survive as a going concern.
An investigation by the French press outlet L’Informé reveals that the group’s revenues, in other words the commission fees it has recorded from users trading its NFT cards of football or baseball players, have been in freefall over the past three years.
In 2022 the group recorded revenues of €143m, the following year that figure was down 59% to €59m with EBITDA losses at -€200m; in 2024 it dropped 27% to €43m as EBITDA losses were halved to -€100m.
Sorare has forecast that revenues will be flat at €42m this year, but the numbers are a long way away from the predictions of supercharged growth that were being made about the group when it raised $680m and was valued at $4.3bn in 2021. They also confirm long-standing rumours that the group was struggling.
Massive outlays
This is mainly because it has not been able to recoup the major sums it paid out to acquire
image rights from major sports leagues such as the English Premier League or La Liga in
Europe and the NBA or NFL in the US, along with commercial sponsorships that it signed with
individual clubs such as PSG or Arsenal.
There have also been repeated questions as to whether it could generate the necessary volumes that would drive profits to meet its targets.
The group told L’Informé that it had succeeded in driving a five-fold reduction in its licensing
costs and some leagues have become shareholders.
It also got rid of most of its New York staff and CEO Nicolas Julia told the website Maddyness that he expects “a return to profitability within 12 to 18 months, with a very clear plan that does not rely on the possibility of a Series C (a third fundraise)”.
Julia added that plans to list the business this year were also on the cards. The group has also launched a subscription model this year that it says will push players to renew their NFT every season “to generate recurring revenues and (help it) gain better visibility over future earnings”.
The news comes at a time when French lawmakers are ratifying the decrees that will set out the web 3 JONUM regulations that will supervise Sorare’s activities. Gaming&Co recently revealed that the group’s players could purchase their NFTs via the buy-now-pay-later provider Klarna, something real-money operators are not authorised to do.
Most French iGaming operators believe Sorare should be regulated as a real money gambling
company, the group is also being prosecuted by the UK Gambling Commission for providing unlicensed gambling in the UK.
Interestingly, while French industry stakeholders have long called for France to regulate its online casino, lobbying and access to the highest instances of the country’s government enabled Sorare to gain a special status. Many of those executives have been critical of the regulatory effort and bandwidth that has been spent on a company that generates a fraction of the revenues of real money operators.
According to L’Infromé, Sorare had reserves of €78m in 2024 vs €196m in 2023, is expected to finish 2025 with €35m in its coffers and said it had drastically reduced its burn rate in the past 12 months.
