VBET’s Swedish licence reinstated on appeal
Swedish administrative court overturns prior SGA ruling to revoke the gaming licence of Vivaro Limited due to inactivity
Vivaro Limited has won an appeal against the Swedish Gambling Authority’s (SGA) decision to strip the company of its licence for failing to launch operations in the country.
In September, the regulator recalled the betting licence of the operator behind the VBET brand due to inactivity after reporting zero sales despite being granted a permit in June 2020.
Vivaro responded to the revocation by suggesting it intended to launch in the Swedish market by the end of August and that a prior launch had only been delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
On top of this, many of the company’s staff are based in Armenia and around 50 employees were sent away to fight in the Nagorno-Karabakh war with Azerbaijan.
Despite the challenging situation, SGA director general Camilla Rosenberg made the decision to go ahead and recall the operating licence.
Vivaro appealed the decision in the Swedish administrative court, where judges sided with the operator considering the accentuating circumstances.
The court decided it would be more reasonable to give the company a chance to launch its gaming business than to revoke the company’s licence altogether.
The SGA’s revocation was reversed as a result and Vivaro was instead issued with an official warning.