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

1 November 2018

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

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 pushing back the date was "unjustifiable" and it might cost the lives of issue gamblers.

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

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

High stakes for fixed-odds wagering machines

' I lost ₤ 250,000 on wagering machines'

sports betting machine stakes to be cut to ₤ 2

The federal government has denied Labour claims that MPs had actually been led to believe the cut would enter force at the start of the next tax year, in April 2019. They recommended the cut had actually been intended to be introduced in April 2020.

But in her resignation letter, Ms Crouch said: "Unfortunately, application of these modifications are now being postponed 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 to lower stakes and its execution, over ₤ 1.6 bn will be lost on these machines.

"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 government that ministers must comply with collective obligation and can not disagree with policy, let alone when it is policy made against your desires connecting to your own portfolio."

'God bless'

Among those applauding her on social networks, the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby tweeted, external that she was "principled and bold" adding: "May God bless her dedication to doing right."
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Former foreign secretary Boris Johnson tweeted, external that she "deserves big credit not just for her project but for sticking up for her principles".

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

Currently, people can bet approximately ₤ 100 every 20 seconds on electronic gambling establishment games such as live roulette. Anti-gambling advocates state the makers let players lose money too rapidly, causing dependency and social, psychological and monetary issues.

But bookies have cautioned the cut in stakes could lead to thousands of outlets closing.

In her response to Ms Crouch, the PM stated the federal government had listened to those who desired the modifications to come into effect earlier than April 2020 and "had agreed that the modifications need to be in place within the year - by October 2019".

In his Budget on Monday, the chancellor stated the change to fixed-odds stakes would come into force next October at the exact same time as changes to responsibility charged on gaming companies based abroad but running in the UK.

The federal government states co-ordinating the date of the two changes 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 represented Chatham and Aylesford, in Kent, considering that 2010
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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 actually worked for various 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 first Tory minister to take maternity leave

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

He praised Ms Crouch's "brave and principled choice" and said Culture Secretary Jeremy Wright "ought to be completely embarrassed" of prioritising "corporate interests over victims, revenues over public health and greed over excellent".

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

Week ahead in Parliament: The Finance Bill
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He told the BBC: "There are plenty of people whose lives have actually been damaged by this addiction ... We need to do this very rapidly, as quickly as we can and in the meantime, the gambling industry will make about ₤ 1bn as a result of this delay. That's wrong."

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