Gambling Commission Issues Warning to Spribe Over License Issue

British regulator the Gambling Commission has issued a warning to Spribe, after the crash game supplier was found to have operated without the appropriate license between May 28, 2021 and October 30, 2025.

Last October, the Commission announced Spribe OÜ’s operating license was suspended while it carried out a review under Section 118 (2) of the Gambling Act 2005, due to “serious” non-compliance with the hosting requirements of the Commission’s licensing framework. The suspension was lifted in late March.

Hosting license issue

Spribe has held a remote operating license in the UK since late 2020, but was informed by the Commission last year it needed to add a hosting license to its existing one. Spribe was unable to operate in the UK until that license was obtained. The Commission describes a hosting license as being required for “gambling software businesses which provide facilities for remote gambling by making their games available to customers of other operators.”

This means a software business may sometimes host casino games on its own servers, providing the service direct to players, rather than via its operator partners. The game can be accessed by players from several operators at a time. Before a supplier can carry out this activity, it is required to apply for a hosting license on top of its operating license. Spribe appeared to be unaware of this requirement.

In a statement sent to Betting.co.uk at the time of the suspension in October, Spribe said:

“Spribe has held a remote operating license in the UK market since late 2020 and has complied with all its terms, including annual audits and transparent communication. It only came to our attention last week from the UKGC [Gambling Commission] that, due to our technical setup, we need to add a hosting license to our existing one.”

The Commission said Spribe had failed to adequately uphold the requirements of the licensing objectives. A particular requirement Spribe was found to have fallen foul of was preventing gambling from being a source of crime or disorder, being associated with crime or disorder, or being used to support crime. The Commission has imposed the warning under section 117 (1) (a) of the Gambling Act 2005.

It is still not explicitly clear as to whether Spribe has now obtained the correct hosting license. Spribe’s licensee page on the Commission’s website still shows its game host license as “pending”. However, in its publication of the warning, the Commission said Spribe co-operated throughout the investigation and took corrective steps to address the identified concerns.

Separate legal matter

Spribe has been busy with regulatory and litigation issues in the UK recently. In May, Spribe was awarded a procedural ruling in its copyright dispute with Aviator LLC, as a UK High Court judge decided foreign law rather than English law alone will be used to govern the case.

The case relates to which party can claim ownership to the rights to the specific plane image used in Aviator-branded crash games. Aviator LLC is pursuing copyright claims against Spribe, in a dispute which originated in the two companies’ native Georgia but extended to the UK after Aviator LLC initiated proceedings in 2024.

Last July, Spribe was granted an interim injunction to block Aviator LLC from launching a competing crash game in the UK, pending a full trial.

The recent UK ruling did not concern who owns the Aviator IP or whether Aviator LLC’s planned launch would infringe on Spribe’s copyright; the case is set to continue in a full trial.