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 "delays" to a crackdown on optimal 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 stated pressing back the date was "unjustifiable" and it could cost the lives of issue gamblers.

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

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

High stakes for fixed-odds wagering machines

' I lost ₤ 250,000 on wagering makers'

sports betting device stakes to be cut to ₤ 2

The federal government has actually denied Labour declares 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 meant to be presented in April 2020.

But in her resignation letter, Ms Crouch stated: "Unfortunately, execution of these modifications are now being postponed until October 2019 due to dedications made by others to those with registered interests.

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End of twitter post by Tracey Crouch

"From the time of the announcement to lower stakes and its execution, over ₤ 1.6 bn will be lost on these machines.

"In addition, two individuals will unfortunately take their lives every day due to gambling-related issues and, because of that as much as any other, I think this delay is unjustifiable."

She added: "It is a truth of government that ministers should follow cumulative responsibility and can not disagree with policy, let alone when it is policy made against your dreams associating with your own portfolio."

'God bless'

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

Former foreign secretary Boris Johnson tweeted, external that she "deserves big credit not simply for her project however for sticking up for her concepts".

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

Currently, people can bet approximately ₤ 100 every 20 seconds on electronic gambling establishment games such as live roulette. Anti-gambling campaigners state the makers let players lose cash too quickly, causing addiction and social, mental and monetary problems.

But bookmakers have actually alerted the cut in stakes could result in countless outlets closing.

In her reaction to Ms Crouch, the PM stated the federal government had actually listened to those who desired the modifications to come into result sooner than April 2020 and "had agreed that the modifications should be 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 very same time as modifications to task charged on sports betting firms based abroad but operating in the UK.

The federal government states co-ordinating the date of the 2 modifications would mean the federal government would not be struck by a fall in tax revenue.

Who is Tracey Crouch?

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

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

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

Grammar 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, including Michael Howard and David Davis before meaning election

She had her first kid 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 gaming market".

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

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

Week ahead in Parliament: The Finance Bill

He informed the BBC: "There are a lot of people whose lives have actually been damaged by this dependency ... We require to do this very rapidly, as quickly as we can and in the meantime, the gambling market will make about ₤ 1bn as an outcome of this hold-up. That's not best."

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