Sports Minister Tracey Crouch Resigns over ‘Delay’ To Betting Crackdown
sports betting Minister Tracey Crouch resigns over ‘delay’ to sports betting crackdown
1 November 2018
Tracey Crouch has resigned over “delays” to a crackdown on maximum stakes for fixed-odds wagering devices.
Chancellor Philip Hammond said in Monday’s Budget that the cut in stakes from ₤ 100 to ₤ 2 would enter into force in October 2019.
Ms Crouch stated pushing back the date was “unjustifiable” and it might cost the lives of issue gamblers.
She tweeted: “Politicians come and go but concepts stay with us permanently.”
Prime Minister Theresa May stated she was dissatisfied Ms Crouch had actually resigned but there had been “no hold-up in bringing forward this crucial procedure”.
High stakes for fixed-odds sports betting machines
‘ I lost ₤ 250,000 on sports betting makers’
sports betting device stakes to be cut to ₤ 2
The federal government has denied 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 actually been intended to be presented in April 2020.
But in her resignation letter, Ms Crouch said: “Unfortunately, execution of these modifications are now being delayed up 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
“From the time of the announcement to reduce stakes and its application, over ₤ 1.6 bn will be lost on these makers.
“In addition, two people will unfortunately take their lives every day due to gambling-related problems and, because of that as much as any other, I think this delay is unjustifiable.”
She included: “It is a truth of federal government that ministers need to follow cumulative duty and can not disagree with policy, let alone when it is policy made against your dreams connecting to 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 brave” adding: “May God bless her commitment to doing right.”
Former foreign secretary Boris Johnson tweeted, external that she “should have huge credit not just for her campaign however for sticking up for her principles”.
Fixed-odds sports betting terminals generate ₤ 1.8 bn in income a year for the wagering market, according to the Gambling Commission, external, and taxes of ₤ 400m for the federal government.
Currently, people can wager as much as ₤ 100 every 20 seconds on electronic gambling establishment video games such as live roulette. Anti-gambling advocates state the devices let players lose money too quickly, causing addiction and social, psychological and financial problems.
But bookmakers have actually cautioned the cut in stakes could result in thousands of outlets closing.
In her reaction to Ms Crouch, the PM stated the government had actually listened to those who wanted the changes to come into result earlier than April 2020 and “had actually agreed that the modifications need to be in location within the year – by October 2019”.
In his Budget on Monday, the chancellor stated the modification to fixed-odds stakes would enter into force next October at the very same time as changes to task charged on sports betting companies based abroad however operating in the UK.
The federal government says co-ordinating the date of the two modifications would indicate the federal government would not be struck 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 qualified 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 different Tory MPs, including 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 accused the government of “capitulating to the gaming industry”.
He applauded Ms Crouch’s “courageous and principled choice” and said Culture Secretary Jeremy Wright “must be thoroughly ashamed” of prioritising “corporate interests over victims, earnings over public health and greed over great”.
MPs from all sides of your house took part his criticism. Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith said it must be talked about as part of the Finance Bill later on this month.
Week ahead in Parliament: The Finance Bill
He informed the BBC: “There are lots of individuals whose lives have actually been harmed by this addiction … We need to do this extremely quickly, as rapidly as we can and in the meantime, the gaming industry will make about ₤ 1bn as an outcome of this delay. That’s wrong.”
Labour has informed the BBC that they will put down an amendment to the Finance Bill to attempt and bring in the changes next April.
