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Strategy

National Strategic Assessment 2020

This report sets out our latest assessment of the issues we face and the risks that gambling poses to consumers and the public

  1. Contents
  2. The provider of facilities for gambling
  3. What are the issues - Change of corporate control

What are the issues - Change of corporate control

A related risk is the failure of licensees or entities to make the legally required notifications in relation to changes of corporate control. This poses real challenges because we have much less scope in decisions relating to changes of corporate control than we do on an application for a licence. As a result, any concerns about the new controller or people associated with the new controller can result in us revoking an operating licence.

Case study

After a hearing before a Regulatory Panel, the Commission decided to revoke the operating licence of Maxent Ltd under section 102(4)(b) of the Gambling Act 2005.

This was because the Commission was not satisfied that it would have granted the operating licence to the licensee had the new controller been a controller of the company when the application for the operating licence was made.

In particular, the Commission was not satisfied as to the source of funds used to acquire and support the Licensee at the time of, and following, the change of corporate control.

The Commission also identified concerns relating to the new controller's suitability, in that it appeared that they had provided conflicting information and had failed to be full and frank in his dealings with the Commission.

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What are the issues - Ownership and governance
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What are the issues - Personal Management Licence Holders (PMLs)
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