What happens to my licence if I become bankrupt or my company goes into liquidation?
The Gambling Act 2005 specifies that operating licences will
lapse if the licence holder ceases to exist or goes into
liquidation.
Personal management licences and personal functional licences
will lapse if the licence holder becomes bankrupt.
In addition, licence holders must notify the Gambling Commission
at an early stage in the liquidation or bankruptcy processes as set
out below.
Personal Licence holders
If you are presented with a petition for bankruptcy or enter
into an Individual Voluntary Arrangement, this is a key
event, and you must notify us within five working days.
However, your licence will only lapse if you are declared
bankrupt. Having been declared bankrupt does not necessarily
prevent you from obtaining a personal licence in the future.
If you want to continue to work in positions where a personal
licence is needed, you will need to apply for a new
licence. You will need to provide a full explanation of the
circumstances that led to you being declared bankrupt to support
your application.
For further information, (including information on the
sequestration of an estate in
Scotland), please read
Bankruptcy of personal licence holders letter to trade associations
- November 2008
Operating licence holders
You need to notify us of
key events, within five working days, including (where the
licence holder is a company):
- a petition being presented for the winding up of the company or
a group company
- if the company or a group company is put into administration or
receivership.
Where possible you should state who has been appointed as the
administrator.
Once the company is in administration, if the business continues
to trade, the administrator is responsible for ensuring the
business complies with the Gambling Act 2005 and the Licence
Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP).
The company's licence will only lapse if the license holder goes
into liquidation.
Advice to administrators
If you are appointed an administrator for a licensed operator,
you need to inform us if you intend the business to continue to
trade. You need to state who will have responsibility for
overseeing operations, and if these people do not hold a personal
licence or are not approved
Annex A holders, personal management licences will need to be
applied for.
In addition, we will require copies of administrators' reports
and must be notified if the company is placed into liquidation. In
the event that the assets of the business are to be sold, you must
ensure that all sales are to
licensed operators. In the case of sale of machines, we do not
expect you to apply for a suppliers licence provided that
either:
- the gaming machines or parts of gaming machines are only sold
as scrap
- the supply of the gaming machine is incidental to the sale or
letting of property on which the machine has previously been
lawfully used.