Play EA FC for real money — every season, same rules.

It means a 1v1 match where both players put real money on the result. On Locked, two players stake the same amount — starting at $2.50 each — and the stakes lock in escrow while the match is played on EA's normal online servers. When both players confirm the score, the winner's wallet is credited the full pot minus Locked's flat 10% fee: two $10 entries make a $20 pot and an $18 payout. There is no bookmaker and no odds — just the better player on the day.

Both: EA Sports FC 26 and EA Sports FC 27. EA Sports FC 27 reaches early access on 18 September 2026 and general release on the 25th; until then EA FC 26 is the edition the picker preselects, because it is the one almost everyone can actually launch. EA FC 27 is one tap away in the same picker from day one, and becomes the default at general release. Money matches run in Online Seasons, Ultimate Team Friendlies or Play a Friend, on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC, with EA's crossplay rules deciding who can face whom.

Pick the edition when you create the challenge — the two titles run on separate servers, so an EA FC 26 challenge and an EA FC 27 challenge are different games and never meet. The dedicated EA FC 26 money matches page and the EA FC 27 money matches page each cover that edition's modes, rules and title-specific FAQs.

The winner always takes 90% of the combined pot, whatever the stake. The minimum entry is $2.50 per player; maximum stakes scale with your account level. The fee never changes — a flat 10% of the pot at every level, deducted from the winner's payout. Draws refund both players in full, with no fee taken.

The same arithmetic drives the EA FC 26 money match walkthrough — $2.50 a side, both stakes in escrow, 90% of the pot to the winner — written there as three steps from sign-up to first match rather than as a table.

Nothing changes about the money side. Your Locked account and wallet aren't tied to a game title, and the rules — equal stakes, escrow, flat 10% fee on the pot, instant crediting on a confirmed result — are identical for every supported game. Challenges are created per edition, so as players move to EA FC 27 their matches move with them, and the ones still on EA FC 26 keep playing each other in the meantime. Nobody is locked out of the lobby for not having upgraded, and nobody has to wait for the rest of the lobby to upgrade.

Your edge carries over too. Mechanics shift between releases — pace, defending, meta squads — but game-sense, positioning and decision-making transfer. If you are winning money matches late in a title's cycle, expect a short adjustment window on the next one, not a reset.

EA FC is a game where the outcome is decided by the players' skill, and Locked is designed to operate as a skill-based contest under UIGEA — the U.S. federal law that carves out games of skill from its definition of unlawful gambling. State laws vary, and players are responsible for confirming legality in their jurisdiction. This is general information, not legal advice; the how it works page explains the skill-contest structure in detail.

• EA FC 26 money matches — modes, rules and FAQs
• How to make money playing EA FC — the payout table, the 55.6% break-even and what a draw does
• Pricing — the flat 10% fee, explained with examples
• Players' Lounge alternatives for money matches, compared
• EA FC 26 Welcome Cup — the full payout table, 16 winners named