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

1 November 2018

Tracey Crouch has resigned over "hold-ups" to a crackdown on optimal 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 enter force in October 2019.

Ms Crouch said pressing back the date was "unjustifiable" and it could cost the lives of issue gamblers.

She tweeted: "Politicians come and go however principles stay with us permanently."

Prime Minister Theresa May stated she was dissatisfied Ms Crouch had resigned but there had been "no delay in bringing forward this essential step".

High stakes for fixed-odds sports betting machines

' I lost ₤ 250,000 on sports betting devices'

sports betting machine stakes to be cut to ₤ 2

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

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

This Twitter post can not be displayed in your web browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Twitter
The BBC is not accountable for the material of external websites.

Skip twitter post by Tracey Crouch

Allow Twitter content?

This post consists of material provided by Twitter. We request for your permission before anything is filled, as they may be utilizing cookies and other technologies. You may wish to check out Twitter's cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content pick 'accept and continue'.

Accept and continue

The BBC is not responsible for the material of external websites.

End of twitter post by Tracey Crouch

"From the time of the announcement to reduce stakes and its implementation, over ₤ 1.6 bn will be lost on these devices.

"In addition, 2 people will unfortunately take their lives every day due to gambling-related problems and, for that factor as much as any other, I think this delay is unjustifiable."

She included: "It is a reality of government that ministers should abide by collective duty and can not disagree with policy, not to mention when it is policy made against your desires associating with your own portfolio."

'God bless'

Among those praising 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 "should have substantial credit not simply for her campaign but for sticking up for her concepts".

Fixed-odds wagering terminals generate ₤ 1.8 bn in revenue a year for the sports betting 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 casino video games such as live roulette. Anti-gambling advocates state the machines let players lose money too rapidly, causing addiction and social, mental and financial problems.

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

In her reaction to Ms Crouch, the PM stated the federal government had listened to those who desired the modifications to come into impact faster than April 2020 and "had actually concurred that the modifications ought to be in place within the year - by October 2019".

In his Budget on Monday, the chancellor said the modification to fixed-odds stakes would come into force next October at the very same time as modifications to task charged on sports betting companies based abroad but operating in the UK.

The government states co-ordinating the date of the two changes would suggest the government would not be hit by a fall in tax revenue.

Who is Tracey Crouch?

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

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 competent FA coach

Grammar 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, consisting of Michael Howard and David Davis before representing election

She had her very 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 implicated the government of "capitulating to the gambling market".

He applauded Ms Crouch's "bold and principled choice" and said Culture Secretary Jeremy Wright "should be thoroughly embarrassed" of prioritising "corporate interests over victims, earnings 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 needs to be gone over as part of the Finance Bill later on this month.

Week ahead in Parliament: The Finance Bill

He informed the BBC: "There are plenty of people whose lives have been harmed by this dependency ... We need to do this extremely quickly, as rapidly as we can and in the meantime, the gambling 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 attempt and generate the changes next April.