A ‘start-up’ undertaking shall mean a person who, at the date of the licence application, fulfils all of the following criteria:
a. A person has been established or operational in the same or a related sector for less than five (5) years;
Provided that, unless the business is operated in a different form, ‘established’ shall refer to the date of registration of a limited liability company, the date of the agreement establishing a partnership, the date of registration as a self-employed person, or as may otherwise be determined by the Authority.
b. In the case of a body corporate, that person has not yet distributed profits;
c. In the case of a body corporate, that person has not been formed through a merger or, if formed through a merger, all body corporates that formed part of the merger, satisfy, in aggregate, all the critical envisaged herein;
d. That person has not acquired the business as a going concern or, if so, the acquirer and the acquired both satisfied all criteria envisaged herein;
e. That person has generated actual revenue from the same, or a related, sector during the previous thirty-six months amounting to less than ten million euro (€10,000,000):
Provided that where the financial period cannot be determined or is not applicable, the previous thirty-six (36) calendar months shall be taken into consideration;
and
Provided that where the financial period cannot be determined, or is not applicable, the previous twelve (12) calendar months shall be taken into consideration;
f. That person is not part of, or controlled by, a corporate group whose actual revenue in the same, or a related sector within the previous thirty-six months exceeds ten million euro (€10,000,000): Provided that where the financial period cannot be determined or is not applicable, the previous thirty-six (36) calendar months shall be taken into consideration; and
g. That person is not subject to the requirement of a Government concession to offer the gaming service in accordance with the proviso to regulation 4 of the Gaming Authorisations Regulations;
Provided that in the case of a body corporate, if the person referred to in this sub-regulation has taken over the business from any person having a qualifying interest in the former, the provisions of this sub-regulation shall extend accordingly to the person having a qualifying interest in the applicant: Provided further that actual revenue referred to in paragraphs (e) and (f) shall be determined on the basis of generally accepted accounting principles and practice as defined in article 2(4) of the Compliance Act.
A person shall be deemed to be a start-up undertaking only upon the Authority’s confirmation, and the Authority shall be vested with discretion to determine whether a person is a start-up undertaking in terms of set regulations. Provided that the onus to prove that a person is indeed a start-up undertaking shall be vested in the same applicant.