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sports betting Minister Tracey Crouch resigns over 'delay' to sports betting crackdown
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1 November 2018

sports betting minister Tracey Crouch has resigned over "delays" to a crackdown on optimal stakes for fixed-odds wagering 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 gamblers.

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

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

High stakes for fixed-odds wagering machines

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

sports betting maker stakes to be cut to ₤ 2

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

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

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End of twitter post by Tracey Crouch

"From the time of the announcement to decrease stakes and its execution, 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 issues and, for that factor as much as any other, I think this delay is unjustifiable."
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She included: "It is a truth of government that ministers should stick to cumulative duty and can not disagree with policy, not to mention when it is policy made versus your desires connecting to 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 courageous" including: "May God bless her commitment to doing right."

Former foreign secretary Boris Johnson tweeted, external that she "should have big credit not just for her project but for sticking up for her concepts".

Fixed-odds wagering terminals produce ₤ 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 approximately ₤ 100 every 20 seconds on electronic gambling establishment video games such as roulette. Anti-gambling advocates state the makers let gamers lose money too rapidly, causing dependency and social, mental and monetary problems.

But bookies have actually cautioned the cut in stakes could lead to countless outlets closing.

In her response to Ms Crouch, the PM said the government had listened to those who desired the changes to come into effect earlier than April 2020 and "had concurred that the changes should be in place within the year - by October 2019".

In his Budget on Monday, the chancellor stated the change to fixed-odds stakes would come into force next October at the very same time as modifications to task charged on gaming firms based abroad however operating in the UK.

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

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 understood for her opposition to fox hunting and her love of football - she is a qualified FA coach
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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 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 government of "capitulating to the gambling industry".

He praised Ms Crouch's "brave and principled choice" and said Culture Secretary Jeremy Wright "must be thoroughly ashamed" of prioritising "business interests over victims, profits over public health and greed over good".

MPs from all sides of the House participated in 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
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He told the BBC: "There are lots of people whose lives have actually been damaged by this dependency ... We need to do this really 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 actually told the BBC that they will put down a change to the Finance Bill to attempt and generate the changes next April.
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