The Norwegian Gaming Board cleared Lyoness of illegal activity a few weeks ago, but the regulator offered no public detail on its findings. The brief announcement did not explain how investigators reached their conclusion on the multilevel marketing company. This lack of transparency contrasts with past regulatory actions.
The Gaming Board stated only that Lyoness does not operate an illegal pyramid sales system under the Lottery Act. It also said Lyoness avoids illegal activities in Norway. This short public statement was the only accounting provided for the investigation.
The Gaming Board typically performs thorough examinations. It previously scrutinized MLM schemes like Wealth Masters and World Ventures with detailed public reports. This time, the process felt different to observers. People wanted to know Lyoness's actual money sources. They sought figures on how much revenue came from members buying account units versus ordinary shoppers using the cashback system.
No such answers came. When Norwegian newspaper VG pressed Gaming Board investigator Monica Alisøy Kjelsnes, she explained the core issue. Lyoness does not operate as a registered business in Norway. Without official company filings to verify, regulators cannot independently check financial claims. They rely entirely on numbers Lyoness supplied directly.
Asked if those numbers might be unreliable, Kjelsnes responded, "We have found no reason to doubt the figures we have received." This statement raised immediate concerns among critics.
Lyoness has a history of making false claims to its members. The company once told people that buying account units was the same as shopping at partner retailers, which was inaccurate. Now, the Gaming Board vouches for financial figures it cannot verify, figures provided by the very company under investigation.
The numbers do not appear to add up. One Norwegian reader reviewed the Gaming Board's stated findings. If 2,000 premium members each paid 16,000 NOK, or about $2,592, this totals 32 million NOK ($5.2 million). The Gaming Board claimed this sum represents only a small fraction of Lyoness's total revenue.
If most revenue comes from cashback on member shopping, typically between 2 and 11 percent, then members would need to have spent roughly 2 billion NOK ($324 million) at Lyoness partner stores. Norway has approximately 60 Lyoness partner businesses, most of them small shops. Generating $324 million in transactions through 60 small retailers appears mathematically implausible.
The Gaming Board's investigation looked complete on paper. But without independent verification, audited accounts, or challenge to suspicious numbers, it accepted the company's word. This process amounts to a rubber stamp, not genuine regulation.