The Gambling Commission (GC) has suspended fantasy motorsports operator GridRival’s two UK licences for failing to comply with multiple licence conditions.
The regulator suspended the company’s linked gambling software licence and pool betting licence on 10 June.
Both licences had been valid from 4 May 2022, as GridRival looked to bring its product to UK audiences. However, GridRival never launched its product in the UK.
Based in Portland, Oregon, GridRival secured $3m in a seed round in late 2021.
The motorsport product is still live in the US, offering both season-long fantasy and pick’em contests, while the firm penned a partnership with the IndyCar Series in February for the 2025 season.
Players can select star drivers from multiple motorsports, including Formula One, NASCAR, Formula E and MotoGP.
However, in the UK, the GC suspended the firm’s licences for three breaches relating to the Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP).
The first was condition, 15.3.1, which concerns general and regulatory returns. The licence requirement states firms must provide the regulator with information when required, and complete quarterly returns.
The GC did not disclose which specific point of licence condition 15.3.1 GridRival was in breach of, though.
Licence condition 1.1.1 (3), which was also cited by the regulator as part of the violation, requires firms to inform the GC if individuals linked to licences have changed.
Furthermore, licence condition 15.2.1 (4a), concerning reporting of key events, was highlighted by the GC as a shortcoming. Once again, the condition relates to a person occupying a key position.
The GC additionally said GridRival failed to comply with ordinary code provision 1.1.1. This meant the licensee had not worked with the regulator in an “open and cooperative way”.
A GC statement read: “In line with the Commission’s licensing, compliance and enforcement policy statement, the indicative sanction guidance and the statement of principles for determining financial penalties, the Commission has decided to suspend the licensee’s operating licence under section 117(e) and section 118(1) of the Gambling Act 2005.”
The sanction statement on the GC’s website has since been removed. The company’s licence summary still states that both of its licences remain suspended.
EGR has contacted the GC for comment. The regulator has confirmed the licences continue to be suspended.
Speaking to EGR, GridRival CEO Ross Fruin said the company was planning to launch in the UK within the next 18 months, while he suggested the GC’s terminology was a “miscategorisation”.
“We never launched in the UK. We acquired the pool betting licence almost two years ago and have been too focused on our growth in the US to get a product live in the UK,” he said.
“Additionally, our product mix has changed quite a bit. We started with a pool-based, traditional DFS game, but pivoted away from the that to more of a single player DFS game, so we let the pool betting licence lapse.
“We are in the process of applying for a general betting licence and plan to be live there with a modified version of our US-based product in the next 12-18 months.”
Away from the GC’s ruling, Companies House information for GridRival UK shows that accounts made up to 31 May 2024 are overdue. These should have been filed by the 31 May 2025 deadline.
The business’ confirmation statement was submitted to the agency on 26 May 2025.
On the Companies House statement, Fruin added: “It’s the same situation. There is nothing ‘overdue’.
“There were never any transactions in the first place. We have done no business of any kind in the UK. This is nothing more than a pivot away from launching a pool-based game in the UK.”
EGR has also asked the GC for comment on the “miscategorisation” of the suspension.
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Regulator flags GridRival’s lack of cooperation and failure to report key events, yet startup’s CEO labels suspension a “miscategorisation” seeing as the product never launched in the UK
The post Gambling Commission suspends motorsport fantasy operator’s UK licences first appeared on EGR Intel.