Spelinspektionen, the Swedish gambling regulator made an announcement in which it was stated that the decision had been taken to revoke the licenses granted to Fair Play Bets and Vivaro. The regulator did have the option to issue warning to the two operators, however, the decision was taken to revoke the licenses of the two companies.

Reason for the revocation of the license

Spelinspektionen revealed that the reason for the revocation was the non-commencement of gambling activities by to Fair Play Bets and Vivaro for more than twelve months since receipt of the license. Fair Play Bets had received its license on July 1, 2020 while Vivaro had received its license on June 3, 2020. The gambling watchdog also made a statement that both companies have not recorded any turnover since they were awarded license to operate. Instead of a warning, the regulator has decided to revoke the licenses granted to the two companies.

Fair Play Bet’s reason for non-operation

The company stated that on request from investors who were in favour of reconstructing and reducing the total cost and labour cost, gambling operations in Sweden were not started. Restructuring was expected to be completed in the coming months and capital injection is expected that will be allocated towards gambling activities and development of the Swedish market as well as other markets. Fair Play Bets has stated that the launch of these activities could take place in the beginning of 2022 or the latest by mid-year of 2022.

Vivaro’s reason for non-operation

Vide a statement made on August 4, 2021, Vivaro had stated that the gambling activities in Sweden were expected to start at the end of August 2021. The company acknowledged that gambling operations had not begun in Sweden as yet on account of the COVID-19 pandemic and the effect of the same on its staff and operations. The staff in Armenia were also experiencing difficulty on account of Armenia’s conflict with Azerbaijan as 50 of the employees of the company were sent to the fight. The company announced that some extra time was needed to launch in a regulated country such as Sweden.