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

1 November 2018
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sports betting minister Tracey Crouch has resigned over "delays" to a crackdown on optimal stakes for fixed-odds wagering machines.
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Chancellor Philip Hammond stated 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 could cost the lives of issue gamblers.

She tweeted: "Politicians come and go but principles stick with us permanently."

Prime Minister Theresa May stated she was disappointed Ms Crouch had resigned but there had actually been "no hold-up in bringing forward this important step".

High stakes for fixed-odds sports betting devices
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' I lost ₤ 250,000 on sports betting machines'

sports betting device stakes to be cut to ₤ 2

The federal government has actually rejected Labour claims that MPs had actually been led to think the cut would enter into force at the start of the next tax year, in April 2019. They suggested the cut had been intended to be introduced in April 2020.

But in her resignation letter, Ms Crouch said: "Unfortunately, application of these changes are now being delayed 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 execution, over ₤ 1.6 bn will be lost on these machines.

"In addition, 2 individuals will tragically 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 fact of government that ministers must follow collective obligation and can not disagree with policy, not to mention when it is policy made against your desires associating with your own portfolio."

'God bless'
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Among those applauding her on social media, the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby tweeted, external that she was "principled and courageous" adding: "May God bless her dedication to doing right."

Former foreign secretary Boris Johnson tweeted, external that she "is worthy of huge credit not just for her project however for sticking up for her principles".

Fixed-odds wagering terminals create ₤ 1.8 bn in earnings a year for the sports betting industry, according to the Gambling Commission, external, and taxes of ₤ 400m for the federal government.

Currently, people can wager up to ₤ 100 every 20 seconds on electronic gambling establishment video games such as roulette. Anti-gambling campaigners state the makers let cash too rapidly, resulting in dependency and social, psychological and financial issues.

But bookmakers have cautioned the cut in stakes could cause countless outlets closing.

In her action to Ms Crouch, the PM said the federal government had listened to those who desired the changes to come into result faster than April 2020 and "had concurred that the changes must be in place within the year - by October 2019".

In his Budget on Monday, the chancellor said the change 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 however running in the UK.

The federal government says co-ordinating the date of the two modifications would suggest the government would not be struck by a fall in tax profits.

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

She is understood for her opposition to fox hunting and her love of football - she is a competent 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 numerous Tory MPs, consisting of Michael Howard and David Davis before meaning 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 sports betting market".

He praised Ms Crouch's "bold and principled choice" and said Culture Secretary Jeremy Wright "need to be completely embarrassed" of prioritising "corporate interests over victims, earnings over public health and greed over great".

MPs from all sides of your home participated his criticism. Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith stated it must 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 plenty of people whose lives have been damaged by this dependency ... We need to do this really rapidly, as rapidly as we can and in the meantime, the gambling market 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 attempt and generate the modifications next April.