Gambling Commission suspends Spribe’s licence
Spribe OÜ’s UK operating licence has been suspended by the Gambling Commission as the supplier has failed to comply with the regulator’s hosting requirements.
In a statement released on Thursday the regulator said it was necessary to suspend Spribe’s software licence on “grounds of suitability” due to “serious” non-compliance.
Spribe is required to immediately halt all hosting activity in line with the suspension. It may not resume hosting activities until the suspension has been lifted and a suitable hosting licence is issued by the regulator.
Hosting is described by the Gambling Commission as a supplier housing games on its own servers, with players are able to access the titles via an operator’s website or app. This is instead of the games sitting on the operator’s own servers.
A hosting licence is required on top of a gambling software licence to carry out these activities in the UK.
Referring to Section 33 of the Gambling Act 2005, the Commission said it was a criminal offence to provide facilities for gambling in Great Britain without a licence, unless a specific exemption applies.
A person or company found guilty of an offence under this section could be liable for or a level 5 fine, as per the commission’s penalty scale, or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 51 weeks.
The Gambling Commission has subsequently initiated a review of the developer’s licence and activities.
Spribe filing additional application
In a comment to iGB, Spribe said it was preparing an application for a remote casino game host licence.
The company said it was taking the matter extremely seriously and was working diligently to resolve the position as swiftly as possible.
“The issue relates to an oversight in the licence application process. In 2020, Spribe applied for and was granted a remote gambling software licence. However, it has now been identified that our business model also requires a remote casino game host licence. This is a technical licensing gap that was not identified during the original application process in 2020,” the statement said.
“We are working urgently to ensure this application is submitted as soon as possible and that all technical and regulatory requirements are fully met. We hope the Commission will be able to approve the application promptly and that we can recommence operations in the UK market as soon as possible.
“As a company we remain fully committed to compliance, transparency and maintaining the highest standards of software integrity across all markets in which we operate. Throughout our five years of operation in the British market, Spribe has consistently complied with all regulatory requirements under our gambling software licence.”
Spribe said its suspension should not affect players’ ability to access their accounts or withdraw funds.
In a seperate note sent to its partners, Spribe said it expected to reinstate the delivery of Aviator to the UK market in the upcoming month.
Influence of Spribe’s Aviator
Spribe’s Aviator game has gained huge popularity across the UK and Europe more broadly since its release in 2019.
In an iGB op-ed published in February, Spribe CEO David Natroshvili said the game had more than 42 million players per month on a global scale. Up to 350,000 bets are placed at the 5,000 casinos offering Aviator each minute, he said.
Following the commission’s announcement, a blank screen showed when trying to access the Aviator product via the Paddy Power website.
Gambling Commission expects ‘highest standard’ of compliance
Commenting on the suspension, the Commission said it takes a robust approach to unlicensed gambling activity.
“We always expect the highest standards of compliance and integrity from licensees. We expect the licensee to promptly notify any parties impacted by service disruptions and to ensure that all operations are halted in line with the conditions of their operating licence until further notice,” it added.
Spribe was issued its gambling software licence in Great Britain in December 2020.