world-ventures-logoBack in 2013 the Norwegian Gaming Board launched an investigation into WorldVentures.

In 2014 the Gaming Board concluded WorldVentures was an “illegal pyramid scheme”. WorldVentures was subsequently ordered to cease all business operations in Norway.

WorldVentures appealed the Gaming Board’s decision, which was denied in November of 2014.

By December 2014, WorldVentures had no choice but to follow the Gaming Board’s directive and close up shop. The company also filed another appeal against the Gaming Board in a Trial Court, which was again denied a month later in January, 2015.

June 2015 saw top WorldVentures affiliate Steinar Husby claim that WorldVentures was going to sue the Norwegian government.

Nothing came of Husby’s claim over the past nine months… till WorldVentures announced they were suing Norway’s Ministry of Culture late last week.

The Ministry of Culture are higher up the government-chain than the Gaming Board, which is why WorldVentures claims they are suing them.

If I may draw an analogy, WorldVentures have now twice rocked up to a Norwegian court and demanded they be exempt from local pyramid scheme laws.

Both courts told them “no”, and so now they’ve demanded to speak to the manager.

According to Norwegian law,

an MLM ‘company must demonstrate that revenues are due to the sale or consumption of goods or services and not others recruited to the system‘.

As per the Gaming Board’s investigation, some 95% of WorldVentures’ revenue was derived from the recruitment of new affiliates.

Despite WorldVentures’ obvious lack of retail activity, Steinar Husby (right) insists it’s just like any other business.

I have previously worked with sale of telephone subscriptions and received commissions from it.

Team leaders also received commissions of what their sellers sold. I can not see that our business is contrary to Norwegian law.

Retail sales Husby, get with the beat.

Details on WorldVentures’ Ministry of Culture lawsuit have yet to surface, but as with the previous two appeals, we might not hear anything further until a decision is made.

Either way with WorldVentures paying out commissions 95% derived from affiliate recruitment, they could sue the Prime-Minister for all the difference it’d made.

I was building up WorldVentures in Norway for four years, and suddenly received the message that we were frozen.

With a stroke of the pen the lottery authorities took from me my business income.

In a possible contravention of the Gaming Board’s enforcement directive, Husby still derives income as a WorldVentures affiliate through the company’s US operations.

Best of luck to WorldVentures in court I guess. And for those following, no word yet on the NCC’s report in South Africa yet.