Section 194: Lapse

Gambling Act 2005 · 2005 c. 19View on legislation.gov.uk

Part 8: Premises Licences

In the case of a premises licence issued to an individual, the licence shall lapse if—

the licensee dies,
the licensee becomes, in the opinion of the licensing authority as notified to the licensee, incapable of carrying on the licensed activities by reason of mental or physical incapacity,
the licensee becomes bankrupt (within the meaning of section 381 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (c. 45)), or a debt relief order is made in respect of the licensee (under Part 7A of the Insolvency Act 1986), or
sequestration of the licensee's estate is awarded under section 22(1) of the Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 2016 .

In any other case a premises licence shall lapse if the licensee—

ceases to exist, or
goes into liquidation (within the meaning of section 247(2) of the Insolvency Act 1986).

If a licensing authority become aware that a premises licence issued by them has lapsed, they shall as soon as is reasonably practicable notify—

the Commission,
either—
in England and Wales, the chief officer of police for any area in which the premises are wholly or partly situated, or
in Scotland, the chief constable of the police force maintained for a police area in which the premises are wholly or partly situated, and
Her Majesty's Commissioners of Customs and Excise.

About this text

This legislation text comes from legislation.gov.uk. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. These source and reuse terms cover the legislation text, not Remedy's commentary.

Reuse reviewed 21 August 2026 under Open Government Licence v3.0.