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

1 November 2018

sports betting minister Tracey Crouch has 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 stated pressing 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 forever."

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

High stakes for fixed-odds sports betting makers

' I lost ₤ 250,000 on wagering devices'

sports betting maker stakes to be cut to ₤ 2

The federal government has rejected Labour declares that MPs had actually been led to think the cut would come into force at the start of the next tax year, in April 2019. They recommended the cut had been intended to be presented in April 2020.

But in her resignation letter, Ms Crouch stated: "Unfortunately, implementation of these modifications are now being postponed until 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 reduce stakes and its execution, over ₤ 1.6 bn will be lost on these devices.

"In addition, 2 individuals will unfortunately take their lives every day due to gambling-related issues and, for that reason as much as any other, I think this hold-up is unjustifiable."

She included: "It is a reality of federal government that ministers must adhere to cumulative responsibility and can not disagree with policy, let alone when it is policy made versus your wishes associating with your own portfolio."

'God bless'

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

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

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

Currently, individuals can bet up to ₤ 100 every 20 seconds on electronic gambling establishment games such as live roulette. Anti-gambling campaigners state the makers let gamers lose cash too quickly, resulting in dependency and social, mental and monetary problems.

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

In her reaction to Ms Crouch, the PM said the federal government had listened to those who wanted the changes to come into result earlier than April 2020 and "had agreed that the changes should be in place within the year - by October 2019".

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

The government states co-ordinating the date of the 2 changes would suggest the 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, since 2010

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

She is known for her opposition to fox hunting and her love of football - she is a qualified 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 meaning election

She had her first kid in 2016 and is believed to have been the very 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 market".

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

MPs from all sides of the House took part his criticism. Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith said it should 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 plenty of individuals whose lives have been harmed by this dependency ... We require to do this extremely rapidly, as quickly as we can and in the meantime, the gaming market will make about ₤ 1bn as an outcome of this delay. That's wrong."

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