Sidebar
external page sports betting Minister Tracey Crouch resigns over 'hold-up' to wagering crackdown (Image: [[https://www.yohaig.ng/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/bet9ja-mobile-app-banner-6.gif|https://www.yohaig.ng/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/bet9ja-mobile-app-banner-6.gif)]]
1 November 2018 (Image: [[https://www.yohaig.ng/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/bet9ja-mobile-app-banner-7.gif|https://www.yohaig.ng/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/bet9ja-mobile-app-banner-7.gif)]]
sports betting minister Tracey Crouch has actually resigned over “delays” to a crackdown on optimal stakes for fixed-odds sports betting machines.
Chancellor Philip Hammond said 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 could cost the lives of issue bettors.
She tweeted: “Politicians reoccur but concepts stay with us forever.”
Prime Minister Theresa May stated she was dissatisfied Ms Crouch had actually resigned but there had been “no hold-up in advancing this essential step”.
High stakes for fixed-odds sports betting machines
' I lost ₤ 250,000 on wagering makers'
sports betting maker stakes to be cut to ₤ 2
The federal government has actually rejected Labour declares that MPs had been led to think 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 presented in April 2020.
But in her resignation letter, Ms Crouch said: “Unfortunately, execution of these modifications are now being postponed up until October 2019 due to commitments made by others to those with registered interests.
This Twitter post can not be shown in your internet browser. Please allow Javascript or try a various 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 material?
external page This post contains material offered by Twitter. We request for your consent before anything is filled, as they may be using cookies and other innovations. You might wish to read Twitter's cookie policy, external and personal privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content pick 'accept and continue'.
Accept and continue
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external websites.
End of twitter post by Tracey Crouch
“From the time of the announcement to lower stakes and its implementation, over ₤ 1.6 bn will be lost on these machines.
“In addition, 2 people will tragically take their lives every day due to gambling-related problems and, for that reason as much as any other, I think this delay is unjustifiable.” (Image: [[https://www.yohaig.ng/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/bet9ja-mobile-registration-20.jpg|https://www.yohaig.ng/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/bet9ja-mobile-registration-20.jpg)]]
She added: “It is a reality of government that ministers must abide by cumulative duty and can not disagree with policy, not to mention when it is policy made versus your wishes relating to your own portfolio.”
'God bless'
Among those praising 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 big credit not just for her project but for sticking up for her concepts”.
Fixed-odds sports betting terminals produce ₤ 1.8 bn in income a year for the sports betting industry, according to the Gambling Commission, external, and taxes of ₤ 400m for the federal government.
Currently, individuals can bet as much as ₤ 100 every 20 seconds on electronic gambling establishment video games such as live roulette. Anti-gambling campaigners state the makers let gamers lose cash too rapidly, causing dependency and social, mental and financial issues.
But bookies have alerted the cut in stakes might cause thousands of outlets closing.
In her action to Ms Crouch, the PM said the federal government had actually listened to those who wanted the modifications to come into impact earlier than April 2020 and “had actually agreed that the modifications ought to remain in location 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 very same time as changes to task charged on sports betting companies based abroad but operating in the UK.
The federal government says co-ordinating the date of the 2 modifications would suggest the government would not be struck by a fall in tax earnings.
Who is Tracey Crouch?
The 43-year-old MP has actually represented Chatham and Aylesford, in Kent, given that 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 qualified FA coach
Grammar school educated at Folkestone School for Girls, she went on to get a degree in law and from Hull University
She had actually worked for different Tory MPs, including Michael Howard and David Davis before standing for election
She had her very first child in 2016 and is believed to have actually been the first Tory minister to take maternity leave
But in the Commons on Thursday, Labour's deputy leader Tom Watson accused the federal government of “capitulating to the sports betting industry”.
He praised Ms Crouch's “brave and principled choice” and said Culture Secretary Jeremy Wright “must be thoroughly embarrassed” of prioritising “corporate interests over victims, revenues over public health and greed over excellent”. (Image: [[https://www.yohaig.ng/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/bet9ja-mobile-registration-5.jpg|https://www.yohaig.ng/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/bet9ja-mobile-registration-5.jpg)]]
MPs from all sides of the House took part his criticism. Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith stated it should be gone over as part of the Finance Bill later on this month.
Week ahead in Parliament: The Finance Bill
He told the BBC: “There are a lot of individuals whose lives have actually been harmed by this dependency … We need to do this extremely quickly, as rapidly as we can and in the meantime, the gaming market will make about ₤ 1bn as a result of this delay. That's not ideal.”
Labour has told the BBC that they will put down a change to the Finance Bill to attempt and generate the modifications next April. (Image: [[https://www.yohaig.ng/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/bet9ja-mobile-app-banner-14.gif|https://www.yohaig.ng/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/bet9ja-mobile-app-banner-14.gif)]]
