1 Sports Minister Tracey Crouch Resigns over 'Hold up' To Betting Crackdown
leonorshand977 edited this page 3 months ago


sports betting Minister Tracey Crouch resigns over 'hold-up' to sports betting crackdown

1 November 2018

sports betting minister Tracey Crouch has actually resigned over "hold-ups" to a crackdown on optimal stakes for fixed-odds sports betting machines.

Chancellor Philip Hammond stated in Monday's Budget that the cut in stakes from ₤ 100 to ₤ 2 would enter force in October 2019.

Ms Crouch said pushing back the date was "unjustifiable" and it might cost the lives of issue gamblers.

She tweeted: "Politicians come and go however concepts stick with us permanently."

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

High stakes for fixed-odds wagering makers

' I lost ₤ 250,000 on wagering makers'

sports betting device stakes to be cut to ₤ 2

The government has rejected Labour claims 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 been meant to be introduced in April 2020.

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

This Twitter post can not be shown in your browser. Please allow Javascript or try a various browser.View initial material on Twitter The BBC is not accountable for the material of external sites.
bit.ly
Skip twitter post by Tracey Crouch
bit.ly
Allow Twitter content?
bet9ja.com
This article contains material supplied by Twitter. We request your approval before anything is loaded, as they may be utilizing cookies and other innovations. You may desire to check out Twitter's cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content pick 'accept and continue'.

Accept and continue
bit.ly
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

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 makers.

"In addition, two people will unfortunately take their lives every day due to gambling-related issues and, for that factor as much as any other, I believe this hold-up is unjustifiable."
bit.ly
She included: "It is a truth of government that ministers must abide by collective responsibility and can not disagree with policy, not to mention when it is policy made versus your wishes associating with 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 brave" adding: "May God bless her dedication to doing right."

Former foreign secretary Boris Johnson tweeted, external that she "is worthy of huge credit not simply for her project but for sticking up for her concepts".
bet9ja.com
Fixed-odds sports betting terminals produce ₤ 1.8 bn in profits a year for the sports betting market, according to the Gambling Commission, external, and taxes of ₤ 400m for the federal government.

Currently, individuals can wager as much as ₤ 100 every 20 seconds on electronic gambling establishment video games such as roulette. Anti-gambling campaigners say the machines let gamers lose cash too rapidly, resulting in dependency and social, psychological and financial problems.

But bookies have actually warned the cut in stakes might cause thousands of outlets closing.

In her response to Ms Crouch, the PM said the government had listened to those who wanted the changes to come into effect faster than April 2020 and "had concurred that the modifications must remain in place within the year - by October 2019".

In his Budget on Monday, the chancellor said the change to fixed-odds stakes would enter into force next October at the same time as changes to duty charged on gaming firms based abroad however operating in the UK.

The government states co-ordinating the date of the two modifications would suggest the government would not be hit by a fall in tax earnings.

Who is Tracey Crouch?

The 43 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 informed at Folkestone School for Girls, she went on to get a degree in law and politics from Hull University

She had worked for various 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 accused the federal government of "capitulating to the sports betting 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, profits over public health and greed over excellent".

MPs from all sides of the House took part his criticism. Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith stated it needs to be discussed as part of the Finance Bill later this month.

Week ahead in Parliament: The Finance Bill

He informed the BBC: "There are plenty of individuals whose lives have been harmed by this dependency ... We require to do this extremely rapidly, as rapidly as we can and in the meantime, the gaming market will make about ₤ 1bn as an outcome of this delay. That's wrong."

Labour has informed the BBC that they will put down a change to the Finance Bill to attempt and generate the modifications next April.