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 sports betting makers.
Chancellor Philip Hammond stated in Monday's Budget that the cut in stakes from ₤ 100 to ₤ 2 would come into force in October 2019.
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Ms Crouch said pressing back the date was "unjustifiable" and it might cost the lives of problem bettors.
She tweeted: "Politicians come and go but 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 essential procedure".
High stakes for fixed-odds wagering makers
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' I lost ₤ 250,000 on wagering makers'
sports betting maker stakes to be cut to ₤ 2
The government has actually rejected Labour claims 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 actually been meant to be introduced in April 2020.
But in her resignation letter, Ms Crouch said: "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
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"From the time of the announcement to decrease stakes and its application, over ₤ 1.6 bn will be lost on these machines.
"In addition, two people will tragically 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 truth of federal government that ministers must stick to cumulative responsibility and can not disagree with policy, let alone when it is policy made versus your dreams associating with your own portfolio."
'God bless'
Among those applauding her on social networks, 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 substantial credit not just for her project however 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 government.
Currently, people can wager approximately ₤ 100 every 20 seconds on electronic gambling establishment video games such as live roulette. Anti-gambling campaigners say the makers let players lose money too rapidly, causing dependency and social, mental and monetary problems.
But bookmakers have actually warned the cut in stakes might result in thousands of outlets closing.
In her response to Ms Crouch, the PM said the federal government had listened to those who wanted the modifications to come into result earlier than April 2020 and "had agreed 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 same time as modifications to task charged on sports betting companies based abroad but operating in the UK.
The government says co-ordinating the date of the two changes would mean 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, since 2010
She was promoted to the front bench as sports betting minister in 2015
She is understood for her opposition to fox hunting and her love of football - she is a competent FA coach
Grade school informed at Folkestone School for Girls, she went on to get a degree in law and from Hull University
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She had actually worked for numerous Tory MPs, consisting of Michael Howard and David Davis before standing for 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 federal government of "capitulating to the gambling industry".
He applauded Ms Crouch's "courageous and principled decision" and stated Culture Secretary Jeremy Wright "ought to be thoroughly ashamed" of prioritising "business interests over victims, earnings over public health and greed over good".
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 this month.
Week ahead in Parliament: The Finance Bill
He told the BBC: "There are a lot of people whose lives have been damaged by this dependency ... We need to do this very rapidly, 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 told the BBC that they will put down a change to the Finance Bill to try and bring in the modifications next April.
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Sports Minister Tracey Crouch Resigns over 'Hold up' To Betting Crackdown
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