sports betting Minister Tracey Crouch resigns over 'hold-up' to sports betting crackdown

1 November 2018

sports betting minister Tracey Crouch has resigned over "delays" to a crackdown on maximum stakes for fixed-odds wagering devices.

Chancellor Philip Hammond said in Monday's Budget that the cut in stakes from ₤ 100 to ₤ 2 would come into force in October 2019.

Ms Crouch said pressing back the date was "unjustifiable" and it might cost the lives of issue bettors.

She tweeted: "Politicians come and go however concepts remain with us forever."

Prime Minister Theresa May said she was disappointed Ms Crouch had resigned but there had been "no delay in advancing this crucial procedure".

High stakes for fixed-odds sports betting devices

' I lost ₤ 250,000 on sports betting machines'

sports betting machine stakes to be cut to ₤ 2

The government has actually denied Labour claims that MPs had been led to think the cut would come into force at the start of the next tax year, in April 2019. They suggested the cut had been planned to be presented in April 2020.

But in her resignation letter, Ms Crouch stated: "Unfortunately, execution of these changes are now being delayed till October 2019 due to commitments made by others to those with signed up interests.

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End of twitter post by Tracey Crouch

"From the time of the statement to decrease stakes and its execution, over ₤ 1.6 bn will be lost on these makers.

"In addition, two people will unfortunately take their lives every day due to gambling-related problems and, for that factor as much as any other, I believe this hold-up is unjustifiable."

She included: "It is a fact of federal government that ministers need to stick to collective duty and can not disagree with policy, not to mention when it is policy made versus your desires connecting to your own portfolio."

'God bless'

Among those praising her on social media, the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby tweeted, external that she was "principled and courageous" including: "May God bless her commitment to doing right."

Former foreign secretary Boris Johnson tweeted, external that she "should have huge credit not simply for her campaign however for sticking up for her concepts".

Fixed-odds wagering terminals produce ₤ 1.8 bn in revenue a year for the wagering market, according to the Gambling Commission, external, and taxes of ₤ 400m for the federal government.

Currently, people can bet up to ₤ 100 every 20 seconds on electronic gambling establishment games such as roulette. Anti-gambling advocates state the makers let players lose cash too quickly, causing addiction and social, psychological and financial issues.

But bookmakers have actually cautioned the cut in stakes might lead to thousands of outlets closing.

In her action to Ms Crouch, the PM said the government had actually listened to those who wanted the changes to come into result sooner than April 2020 and "had actually concurred that the changes should remain in place within the year - by October 2019".

In his Budget on Monday, the chancellor said the change to fixed-odds stakes would enter into force next October at the same time as changes to task charged on gaming companies based abroad however running in the UK.

The federal government says co-ordinating the date of the two modifications would indicate the federal government would not be hit by a fall in tax revenue.

Who is Tracey Crouch?

The 43-year-old MP has actually represented Chatham and Aylesford, in Kent, because 2010

She was promoted to the front bench as sports betting minister in 2015

She is known for her opposition to fox searching and her love of football - she is a competent FA coach

Grade school educated at Folkestone School for Girls, she went on to get a degree in law and politics from Hull University

She had worked for numerous Tory MPs, consisting of Michael Howard and David Davis before meaning election

She had her first kid in 2016 and is believed to have actually been the very first Tory minister to take maternity leave

But in the Commons on Thursday, Labour's deputy leader Tom Watson implicated the federal government of "capitulating to the gaming industry".

He applauded Ms Crouch's "brave and principled choice" and stated Culture Secretary Jeremy Wright "must be thoroughly ashamed" of prioritising "business interests over victims, revenues over public health and greed over good".

MPs from all sides of the House participated his criticism. Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith said it needs to be gone over as part of the Finance Bill later this month.

Week ahead in Parliament: The Finance Bill

He told the BBC: "There are plenty of individuals whose lives have actually been damaged by this addiction ... We need to do this extremely quickly, as rapidly as we can and in the meantime, the gaming market will make about ₤ 1bn as a result of this delay. That's not ideal."

Labour has actually told the BBC that they will put down a modification to the Finance Bill to attempt and bring in the modifications next April.