Betting (Amendment) Act 2015

Revocation of licences by District Court

23. The Principal Act is amended by the substitution of the following section for section 16:

“16. (1) The Minister for Justice and Equality may apply to the District Court for an order under this section if—

(a) the holder of a licence under this Act is convicted of an offence referred to in paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section 6,

(b) the holder of a licence under this Act is an individual and he has ceased to be the holder of a certificate of personal fitness that he is a fit and proper person to hold the licence concerned, by reason of the revocation of such a certificate in accordance with section 5C,

(c) in a case where the holder of a licence under this Act is a body corporate—

(i) a relevant officer of the body corporate is not the holder of a certificate of personal fitness that he is a fit and proper person to be a relevant officer of a body corporate that holds the licence concerned, by reason of his failing to make, or the refusal of, an application for such a certificate in accordance with section 7, 7B or 7C, or

(ii) a relevant officer of the body corporate has ceased to be the holder of a certificate of personal fitness that he is a fit and proper person to be a relevant officer of a body corporate that holds the licence concerned, by reason of the revocation of such a certificate in accordance with section 5C.

(2) The Minister for Justice and Equality may apply to the District Court for an order under this section if he believes that—

(a) in applying for a certificate of personal fitness, the holder of a licence under this Act or a relevant officer of the holder of such a licence, as the case may be, made a statement or provided information that was false or misleading in a material respect, or

(b) the holder of a licence under this Act has contravened section 7D, 7E or 23.

(3) An application under this section for reasons referred to in subparagraph (i) of paragraph (c) of subsection (1) shall—

(a) in circumstances where the individual does not make a request under subsection (1) of section 13, not be made until the expiration of the period within which that request may be made,

(b) in circumstances where the individual makes a request under subsection (1) of section 13 but does not bring an appeal under that section, not be made until the expiration of the period specified in subsection (3) of that section, or

(c) in circumstances where the individual brings an appeal under section 13 and the District Court affirms the refusal in accordance with subsection (5) of that section, not be made until the making of the decision by the District Court to so affirm the refusal.

(4) An application under this section for reasons referred to in paragraph (b), or subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (c), of subsection (1) shall—

(a) in circumstances where the individual or relevant officer does not make a request under subsection (1) of section 13A, not be made until the expiration of the period within which that request may be made,

(b) in circumstances where the individual or relevant officer makes a request under subsection (1) of section 13A but does not bring an appeal under that section, not be made until the expiration of the period specified in subsection (2) of that section, or

(c) in circumstances where the individual or relevant officer brings an appeal under section 13A and the District Court affirms the revocation in accordance with subsection (4) of that section, not be made until the making of the decision by the District Court to so affirm the revocation.

(5) The Minister for Justice and Equality shall, before making an application under this section, serve a notice on the holder of the licence concerned—

(a) specifying, as appropriate—

(i) the offence of which the holder of the licence stands convicted,

(ii) the statement made or information provided in the application for a certificate of personal fitness that he believes to have been false or misleading in a material respect, or

(iii) the provision that he believes has been contravened by the holder of the licence, and the nature of the contravention,

(b) stating that that Minister of the Government proposes to make an application to the District Court under this section, and

(c) stating that the holder of the licence may, within such period (being not shorter than 7 days after the service of the notice) as is specified in the notice, make a statement in writing to that Minister of the Government in relation to the matter.

(6) The Minister for Justice and Equality shall, before making an application under this section, consider any statement made by the holder of the licence concerned consequent upon the receipt by the holder of the licence of a notice under subsection (5).

(7) The District Court may, upon the hearing of an application under this section, make an order revoking a licence issued under this Act, if—

(a) the holder of the licence stands convicted of an offence under subsection (1) of section 6,

(b) in a case where the holder of the licence is an individual, that individual has ceased to be the holder of a certificate of personal fitness that he is a fit and proper person to hold such a licence, by reason of the revocation of such a certificate in accordance with section 5C,

(c) in a case where the holder of the licence is a body corporate, a relevant officer of the body corporate is not the holder of a certificate of personal fitness that he is a fit and proper person to be a relevant officer of a body corporate that holds such a licence, by reason of his failing to make an application, or the refusal of an application, for such a certificate under section 7, 7B or 7C,

(d) in a case where the holder of the licence is a body corporate, a relevant officer of the body corporate has ceased to be the holder of a certificate of personal fitness that he is a fit and proper person to be a relevant officer of a body corporate that holds such a licence, by reason of the revocation of such a certificate in accordance with section 5C, or

(e) it is satisfied that—

(i) the holder of the licence or a relevant officer of the holder of the licence, as the case may be, made a statement or provided information that was false or misleading in a material respect when applying for a certificate of personal fitness, or

(ii) the holder of the licence has contravened section 7D, 7E or 23.

(8) An application under this section shall be made to a judge of the District Court assigned to the Dublin Metropolitan District.

(9) The Minister for Justice and Equality shall, as soon as may be after the making of a decision by the District Court in relation to an application under this section, notify the Revenue Commissioners in writing of that decision.”.