Major League Baseball to launch NFT game with Sorare

FILE PHOTO: May 3, 2022; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; A major league baseball lays on the field during the game between the Baltimore Orioles and the Minnesota Twins at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

LONDON (Reuters) - Major League Baseball will launch an online game in partnership with SoftBank-backed NFT company Sorare this summer, Sorare said in a statement on Thursday.

The game will allow baseball fans to buy and sell NFTs representing baseball players using the cryptoccurency ether, building fantasy teams which they can compete with to win prizes.

A non-fungible token (NFT) is a form of crypto asset which represents a digital file such as an image, video or piece of text.

Sports-related collectibles are proving to be a popular type of NFT as the digital assets market exploded into a multibillion-dollar industry last year.

Top sports leagues, including the U.S. National Basketball Association, have licensed NFT-based products for fans.

Sorare, which raised $680 million last year in a funding round led by SoftBank, also has a partnership with Major League Soccer in the United States.

The company is currently being investigated by the UK's gambling watchdog.

(Reporting by Elizabeth Howcroft; Editing by Kim Coghill)