sports betting Minister Tracey Crouch resigns over 'delay' to sports betting crackdown

1 November 2018

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

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

Ms Crouch stated pushing back the date was "unjustifiable" and it could cost the lives of issue gamblers.

She tweeted: "Politicians come and go however concepts stay with us permanently."

Prime Minister Theresa May stated she was dissatisfied Ms Crouch had resigned but there had been "no hold-up in bringing forward this crucial step".

High stakes for fixed-odds wagering machines

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

sports betting device stakes to be cut to ₤ 2

The federal government has actually rejected Labour declares that MPs had been led to believe the cut would enter force at the start of the next tax year, in April 2019. They suggested the cut had actually been meant to be presented in April 2020.

But in her resignation letter, Ms Crouch said: "Unfortunately, application of these changes are now being postponed up until October 2019 due to dedications 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 minimize stakes and its application, over ₤ 1.6 bn will be lost on these makers.

"In addition, 2 individuals will tragically take their lives every day due to gambling-related problems and, because of that as much as any other, I believe this hold-up is unjustifiable."

She added: "It is a truth of federal government that ministers need to comply with collective duty and can not disagree with policy, let alone when it is policy made versus your dreams associating with 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 brave" including: "May God bless her dedication to doing right."

Former foreign secretary Boris Johnson tweeted, external that she "is worthy of huge credit not just for her project but for sticking up for her concepts".

Fixed-odds sports betting terminals create ₤ 1.8 bn in earnings a year for the wagering industry, 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 video games such as roulette. Anti-gambling campaigners state the machines let gamers lose money too rapidly, leading to dependency and social, psychological and monetary issues.

But bookies have alerted the cut in stakes might lead to countless outlets closing.

In her action to Ms Crouch, the PM stated the government had listened to those who wanted the modifications to come into impact earlier than April 2020 and "had concurred that the modifications need to remain in place within the year - by October 2019".

In his Budget on Monday, the chancellor said the change to fixed-odds stakes would come into force next October at the very same time as modifications to task charged on gambling firms based abroad however running in the UK.

The government states co-ordinating the date of the 2 changes would imply the government would not be struck 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
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She is understood 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 very first child 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 market".
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He praised Ms Crouch's "courageous and principled choice" and stated Culture Secretary Jeremy Wright "must be thoroughly embarrassed" of prioritising "business interests over victims, earnings over public health and greed over good".

MPs from all sides of your house joined in his criticism. Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith said it should be talked about as part of the Finance Bill later this month.

Week ahead in Parliament: The Finance Bill
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He told the BBC: "There are plenty of individuals whose lives have been damaged by this dependency ... We need to do this extremely quickly, as rapidly as we can and in the meantime, the gaming industry will make about ₤ 1bn as an outcome of this hold-up. That's wrong."

Labour has informed the BBC that they will put down a modification to the Finance Bill to attempt and generate the changes next April.