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

1 November 2018

sports betting minister Tracey Crouch has actually resigned over "hold-ups" to a crackdown on maximum stakes for fixed-odds wagering makers.

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

Ms Crouch said pushing back the date was "unjustifiable" and it might cost the lives of problem gamblers.

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

Prime Minister Theresa May said she was disappointed Ms Crouch had resigned however there had actually been "no hold-up in bringing forward this important measure".

High stakes for fixed-odds wagering machines

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

sports betting maker stakes to be cut to ₤ 2

The federal government has actually denied 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 intended to be presented in April 2020.

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

This Twitter post can not be displayed in your browser. Please make it possible for Javascript or try a various browser.View original content on Twitter
The BBC is not responsible for the material of external websites.

Skip twitter post by Tracey Crouch

Allow Twitter content?

This article consists of content supplied by Twitter. We ask for your authorization before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to check out Twitter's cookie policy, external and personal privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content select 'accept and continue'.

Accept and continue

The BBC is not accountable for the content of external websites.

End of twitter post by Tracey Crouch

"From the time of the announcement to reduce stakes and its application, 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 issues and, because of that as much as any other, I believe this delay is unjustifiable."

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

Former foreign secretary Boris Johnson tweeted, external that she "deserves substantial credit not just for her campaign however for sticking up for her principles".

Fixed-odds sports betting terminals generate ₤ 1.8 bn in earnings a year for the sports betting market, according to the Gambling Commission, external, and taxes of ₤ 400m for the federal government.

Currently, people can wager as much as ₤ 100 every 20 seconds on electronic gambling establishment video games such as live roulette. Anti-gambling advocates state the devices let gamers lose cash too quickly, leading to addiction and social, psychological and monetary issues.

But bookies have warned the cut in stakes might cause thousands of outlets closing.

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

In his Budget on Monday, the chancellor stated the change to fixed-odds stakes would enter force next October at the exact same time as changes to task charged on gaming firms based abroad but operating in the UK.

The federal government says co-ordinating the date of the 2 modifications would indicate the government would not be hit by a fall in tax profits.

Who is Tracey Crouch?

The 43-year-old MP has represented Chatham and Aylesford, in Kent, since 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 certified FA coach

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

She had worked for different Tory MPs, consisting of Michael Howard and David Davis before representing 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 gambling industry".

He praised Ms Crouch's "bold and principled choice" and said Culture Secretary Jeremy Wright "must be completely ashamed" of prioritising "corporate interests over victims, profits over public health and greed over great".

MPs from all sides of the House participated his criticism. Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith said it must be discussed as part of the Finance Bill later on this month.

Week ahead in Parliament: The Finance Bill

He informed the BBC: "There are lots of people whose lives have actually been harmed by this dependency ... We need to do this extremely rapidly, as rapidly as we can and in the meantime, the gambling industry will make about ₤ 1bn as an outcome of this hold-up. That's wrong."

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