The Norwegian Gaming Board launched an investigation into World Ventures this week, suspecting the travel membership company of operating an illegal pyramid scheme. This action follows the company's recruitment-driven business model, which regulators say violates Section 16 of the country's Lottery Act.
World Ventures structured its business around affiliates earning commissions by signing new recruits and collecting their fees. The actual travel services, the company's supposed core offering, generated almost no revenue. Affiliates had little reason to book trips or sell travel packages, as their primary income came from recruitment. This created a network of salespeople focused on signing up other salespeople, with minimal attention paid to actual products or services.
Norway's Lottery Act defines a pyramid scheme as a system where income derives mainly from recruiting others, rather than from genuine sales or service consumption. World Ventures' compensation structure aligns with this definition. The Gaming Board stated, "We shall consider the Company operates in violation of Lottery Act which says that the pyramids are illegal."
The investigation specifically examined whether World Ventures' Norwegian operations functioned as a classic pyramid arrangement. Evidence showed the company's earnings structure paid commissions almost entirely on recruitment, not on retail sales of travel packages. On May 14th, the Gaming Board requested documentation from World Ventures to support its inquiry. The company was given until June 4th to respond, but the deadline passed without compliance.
The Gaming Board concluded its investigation on February 24th, 2014. It ruled that World Ventures operated as an illegal pyramid scheme in Norway. The company is now banned from continuing operations in the country under this designation.