Spribe’s Five-Month License Suspension Lifted by Gambling Commission

British regulator the Gambling Commission has lifted the license suspension it had placed on crash games supplier Spribe, five months after the suspension was introduced for failure to obtain a hosting license.

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.

However, the Commission has added extra text to the page announcing the suspension of the license, which states: “On 30 March 2026 the suspension of Spribe OÜ's licence was lifted. The licensee is now permitted to provide gambling facilities in reliance on its gambling software license.”

Suspension lasted longer than expected

Spribe has held a remote operating license in the UK since late 2020, but was informed by the Commission last year that it needed to add a hosting license to its existing one. Spribe was unable to operate in the UK until that license was obtained.

It is currently not explicitly clear as to whether Spribe has now obtained the correct hosting license. Spribe’s licensee page on the Gambling Commission’s website still shows its game host license as “pending”. Betting.co.uk has reached out to Spribe for comment. At the time of its license being suspended, Spribe said it expected to be live again in the UK by the end of November, but this did not come to fruition.

In a statement sent to Betting.co.uk when its license was suspended 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, regulatory returns, and transparent communication with the UKGC [Gambling Commission] regarding any questions or concerns throughout all these years.

“It only came to our attention last week from the UKGC that, due to our technical setup, we need to add a hosting license to our existing one. Until we obtain this license, the Commission, at its discretion, opted to suspend our current remote operating license. We are taking all necessary steps to comply with the Commission's requirements and expect to reinstate the delivery of Aviator to the UK market in the upcoming month [November].”

What do we mean by ‘hosting license’?

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.

Spribe known for Aviator game

While Spribe provides several casino games, it is best known for its Aviator crash game product. Access to this game has been blocked on UK casino sites since October, and there is as yet no explicit sign that sites in the UK have resumed offering the game.

It is also unclear as to how long Spribe has been hosting games on its own servers and to what extent it breached the Commission’s regulations. Betting.co.uk previously asked Spribe for clarification on this.