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

1 November 2018

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

Chancellor Philip Hammond stated 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 might cost the lives of issue bettors.

She tweeted: "Politicians reoccur however concepts stay with us forever."

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

High stakes for fixed-odds wagering devices

' I lost ₤ 250,000 on wagering devices'

sports betting device stakes to be cut to ₤ 2

The federal government has actually rejected Labour declares 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 been planned to be introduced in April 2020.

But in her resignation letter, Ms Crouch said: "Unfortunately, execution of these changes are now being delayed till 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 statement to decrease stakes and its application, over ₤ 1.6 bn will be lost on these makers.

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

She included: "It is a reality of government that ministers need to comply with collective obligation and can not disagree with policy, not to mention when it is policy made against 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 bold" including: "May God bless her dedication to doing right."

Former foreign secretary Boris Johnson tweeted, external that she "deserves 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 wagering market, according to the Gambling Commission, external, and taxes of ₤ 400m for the government.

Currently, people can wager as much as ₤ 100 every 20 seconds on electronic gambling establishment video games such as live roulette. Anti-gambling campaigners state the machines let gamers lose cash too rapidly, resulting in dependency and social, psychological and monetary problems.

But bookies have actually alerted the cut in stakes could lead to countless outlets closing.

In her response to Ms Crouch, the PM said the government had actually listened to those who desired the changes to come into impact faster than April 2020 and "had concurred that the changes must remain in location within the year - by October 2019".

In his Budget on Monday, the chancellor stated the modification to fixed-odds stakes would enter force next October at the same time as changes to duty charged on sports betting companies 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 hit by a fall in tax earnings.

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

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

She had actually worked for different Tory MPs, including Michael Howard and David Davis before representing election

She had her first kid in 2016 and is thought 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 government of "capitulating to the gaming market".

He applauded Ms Crouch's "bold and principled choice" and said Culture Secretary Jeremy Wright "ought to be thoroughly ashamed" of prioritising "corporate interests over victims, profits over public health and greed over excellent".

MPs from all sides of the House signed up with in his criticism. Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith said it should be talked about as part of the Finance Bill later this month.

Week ahead in Parliament: The Finance Bill
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He told the BBC: "There are a lot of individuals whose lives have actually been damaged by this dependency ... We require to do this very rapidly, as rapidly as we can and in the meantime, the gambling market will make about ₤ 1bn as a result of this hold-up. That's not ideal."

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