Fantasy football game promoter Sorare has been charged by the Gaming Commission with providing unlicensed gaming facilities without a licence.
An official partner of the Premier League, the French group will appear in court in Birmingham on 4 October.
A Sorare spokesman told PA: “We are aware of the claims made by the Gambling Commission and have instructed our UK counsel to challenge them.
“We firmly deny any claims that Sorare is a gambling product under UK laws.
“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 has a four-year licence with the Premier League to use digital cards of players as part of its online game.
The group has been investigated once already by the Gambling Commission, in 2021, for a fantasy football game based around blockchain for which it issued a warning after saying it was also launched without a licence.
In a statement then the Commission said: “This means any activity completed on the site is outside the gambling regulations that a licensed operator should comply with.
“Consumers are being advised to consider this information when deciding whether or not to interact with the site.”