Betting (Amendment) Act 2015

Issue of certificates of personal fitness to other persons

9. The Principal Act is amended by the insertion of the following section:

“5A. (1) Upon compliance with subsection (2), an individual (whether resident in the State or outside the State) may apply to the Minister for Justice and Equality for a certificate (in this Act also referred to as a ‘certificate of personal fitness’) that the individual is a fit and proper person to hold a remote bookmaker’s licence or a remote betting intermediary’s licence or to be a relevant officer of a body corporate that holds such a licence.

(2) An individual intending to apply for a certificate of personal fitness under this section shall, not later than 14 days and not earlier than one month, before making the application, publish in two daily newspapers circulating in the State a notice in such form as may be prescribed of his intention to make the application.

(3) An application for a certificate of personal fitness under this section shall be in such form as may be specified by the Minister for Justice and Equality.

(4) An applicant for a certificate of personal fitness under this section shall provide the Minister for Justice and Equality with all such information (including information relating to the applicant’s financial circumstances) as that Minister of the Government may reasonably require for the purposes of the performance of his functions under this section.

(5) Upon consideration of an application under this section, the Minister for Justice and Equality shall, not later than 56 days after receiving the application, either—

(a) grant the application and issue a certificate of personal fitness to the applicant, or

(b) refuse the application.

(6) The Minister for Justice and Equality shall not refuse an application for a certificate of personal fitness under this section unless—

(a) he is satisfied that by reason of the financial circumstances of, or the existence of a relevant consideration in relation to, the applicant for the certificate, the applicant is not a fit and proper person to hold a remote bookmaker’s licence or a remote betting intermediary’s licence or to be a relevant officer of a body corporate that holds such a licence, or

(b) the applicant fails or refuses to comply with a requirement to which subsection (4) applies.

(7) A certificate of personal fitness under this section shall be in such form as may be specified by the Minister for Justice and Equality.

(8) An individual who, in applying for a certificate of personal fitness under this section, knowingly makes a statement or provides information to the Minister for Justice and Equality that is false or misleading in a material respect shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable—

(a) on summary conviction to a class A fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or both, or

(b) on conviction on indictment to a fine not exceeding €50,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or both.

(9) The Minister for Justice and Equality shall, as soon as may be after making a decision in relation to an application for a certificate of personal fitness, notify the Revenue Commissioners in writing of that decision.”.