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

1 November 2018

sports betting minister Tracey Crouch has resigned over "delays" to a crackdown on optimal stakes for fixed-odds sports betting devices.
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 pressing back the date was "unjustifiable" and it could cost the lives of issue bettors.
She tweeted: "Politicians reoccur however concepts stay with us forever."
Prime Minister Theresa May stated she was disappointed Ms Crouch had actually resigned but there had actually been "no delay in bringing forward this crucial measure".
High stakes for fixed-odds wagering devices
' I lost ₤ 250,000 on wagering makers'
sports betting device stakes to be cut to ₤ 2
The federal government has denied Labour claims that MPs had been led to believe the cut would come into force at the start of the next tax year, in April 2019. They recommended the cut had been meant to be presented in April 2020.
But in her resignation letter, Ms Crouch said: "Unfortunately, execution of these changes are now being postponed until October 2019 due to commitments made by others to those with signed up interests.
This Twitter post can not be shown in your web browser. Please enable Javascript or attempt a different browser.View original material on Twitter
The BBC is not accountable for the material of external websites.
Skip twitter post by Tracey Crouch
Allow Twitter material?
This post contains material supplied by Twitter. We request for your permission before anything is loaded, as they might be utilizing cookies and other technologies. You may desire to read Twitter's cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this material select 'accept and continue'.
Accept and continue
The BBC is not accountable for the material of external sites.
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 machines.
"In addition, two individuals will tragically 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 reality of government that ministers need to stick to cumulative responsibility and can not disagree with policy, not to mention when it is policy made versus your dreams 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 brave" adding: "May God bless her dedication to doing right."
Former foreign secretary Boris Johnson tweeted, external that she "deserves huge credit not simply for her project however for sticking up for her concepts".
Fixed-odds sports betting terminals generate ₤ 1.8 bn in revenue a year for the wagering market, according to the Gambling Commission, external, and taxes of ₤ 400m for the federal government.
Currently, people can bet as much as ₤ 100 every 20 seconds on electronic gambling establishment games such as roulette. Anti-gambling advocates say the makers let gamers lose money too rapidly, leading to dependency and social, mental and monetary problems.
But bookmakers have cautioned the cut in stakes might lead to thousands of outlets closing.
In her response to Ms Crouch, the PM stated the government had listened to those who desired the modifications to come into result faster than April 2020 and "had actually agreed that the modifications ought 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 enter force next October at the same time as changes to task charged on sports betting firms based abroad but operating in the UK.
The federal government says co-ordinating the date of the two modifications would imply the government would not be hit by a fall in tax income.
Who is Tracey Crouch?
The 43-year-old MP has represented Chatham and Aylesford, in Kent, considering that 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 worked for various Tory MPs, consisting of Michael Howard and David Davis before representing election
She had her first kid 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 accused the federal government of "capitulating to the gambling market".
He applauded Ms Crouch's "courageous and principled choice" and said Culture Secretary Jeremy Wright "should be completely embarrassed" of prioritising "business interests over victims, profits over public health and greed over good".
MPs from all sides of the House signed up with in his criticism. Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith stated it ought to be gone over as part of the Finance Bill later this month.
Week ahead in Parliament: The Finance Bill

He told the BBC: "There are plenty of individuals whose lives have actually been harmed by this dependency ... We need to do this very quickly, as quickly as we can and in the meantime, the sports betting industry will make about ₤ 1bn as an outcome of this hold-up. That's wrong."
Labour has actually informed the BBC that they will put down a change to the Finance Bill to try and bring in the changes next April.
