Vie.gg Opts To Close Down In Multiple Jurisdictions
Specialist esports betting company Vie.gg will be shutting down across multiple global locations, effectively immediately.
Customers in affected regions, New Jersey, Spain and the United Kingdom, were sent an email informing them of the decision and also giving details of how they could withdraw their funds from their Vie.gg account up until the 1st November 2022.
The Vie.gg platform is one of several owned by the Esports Entertainment Group (EEG).
“Difficult Decision”
The message received by customers read as follows under the title “Important Information Regarding Your Account”
“Dear Patron,
“We have made the difficult decision to close Vie.gg. The site will remain open until November 1, 2022. Until then, you will be able to log in to close your account.
“Any accounts remaining open at that date will automatically be closed and any remaining balances of $1 opr more will be returned by check sent to the address registered on the applicable account.
“If you have any questions, please contact our Customer Support team at [email protected]”
“Thank you for playing on our site.”
“The World Had Changed”
Clearly, there were a number of questions that customers affected by the decision wanted answering and EEG Chief Executive Officer, Grant Johnson, explained more in an interview with NJGamblingSites.
Johnson explained that the decision to withdraw from NJ, Spain and the UK was “difficult but necessary.”
“These are stressful times and companies need to make difficult decisions,” he stated in the interview.
He also expanded on why Vie.gg had decided to leave the New Jersey market in more detail, explaining that in the state:
“Esports was categorized the same as sports [betting]. So the skin [costs us] seven figures a year, which is waay [sic] too much for esports in its current stage as an evolving vertical.
“Had the market not turned so radically, we had anticipated raising capital and then adding a sportsbook. But by the time we were approved, clearly the world had changed.
“We are restructuring to last through to move stable markets. At this time NJ, Spain and the UK are all jurisdictions that we don’t have the required capital to stay active in.
“So, we are reducing our burn and putting some cash back in the bank,” he commented.
Changing Face Of Local Betting Markets
Vie.gg’s announcement is not the first indicating a company is withdrawing from a particular market in recent times.
In New Jersey, just nine days ago Fubo Sportsbook announced that it was closing with immediate effect.
That decision came barely a month after the sportsbook had opened its New Jersey site. Similar sites in Arizona and Iowa also closed and FuboTV announced that the company was going to “exit the online sports wagering business effective immediately.”
Additionally, recent changes in the UK’s legislation for gambling sites, including no longer accepting Kahwanake or MGA certified sites, has led to a significant number of companies moving out of the UK.
The likes of BetBright, 188Bet, InterCasino, Vera, Max Entertainment, Royal Panda and Dunder are just a few of the names to have moved out of the UK betting scene in the past few years.
This news story is still developing and we will add any further updates on this page in due course.
