world-ventures-logoInitially declaring World Ventures to be a pyramid scheme back in February, it wasn’t until late April that the the Norwegian Gaming Board issued a directive ordering World Ventures to “stop all activity” in the country.

The Norwegian Gaming Board’s decision came after a nine month investigation, which revealed conclusive evidence that World Ventures was operating as a pyramid scheme:

At the end of May 2013 had WorldVentures 3654 members in Norway. About 95 percent of the members were also sales representatives.

World Venture’s activities in Norway are an illegal pyramid game because revenues almost exclusively come from recruiting members and not the sale of travel residence.

As per World Venture’s business model, the company pays out on the recruitment of new affiliates. With only 5% of their members counting as retail customers, and in all likelihood an even smaller percentage of revenue not being sourced from affiliates, it doesn’t take a genius to put two and two together.

Still, quick to file an appeal and even quicker to reassure everyone that they had “permission” to continue to sign up new affiliates into the scheme, World Ventures refuted the Gaming Board claims, telling BusinessForHome:

WorldVentures considers both a number of the factual and legal aspects of the Gaming Board report as unfounded and associated with failure.

WorldVentures considers that there are no reasons for banning business.

Right.

Looking forward, World Ventures’ claim to have filed an appeal with Lotterinemda.

The Gaming Board in the meantime has voluntarily “suspended” enforcement of their decision until the appeal deadline, which is three weeks from April 30th (May 21st).

Presumably at that point the Gaming Board will set about enforcing their decision, pending the outcome of World Venture’s appeal.

For an indication of how Gaming Board appeals based on frivolous reasoining tend to play one, readers are advised to check out Wealth Masters International’s appeal.

After investigating WMI, the Norwegian Gaming Board found it to be a pyramid scheme because ‘essentially all (the people) purchasing the product are also consultants (affiliates)‘.

Sound familiar?

WMI appealed the decision, claiming that ‘the Gaming Board hadn’t understood Wealth Masters International’s internal structure or product composition.’ The appeal was rejected and the original pyramid scheme declaration upheld.

Wealth Master’s later went on to accuse the Gaming Board of collusion and libel, but that went nowhere.

With World Venture’s arguments taking on a similar-sounding tone, I doubt their appeal will go anywhere either.