PM appoints new ministering after gambling rule reforms row

Prime Minister Theresa May has moved to replace Tracey Crouch after she dramatically quit as Sports Minister last week in opposition to delays in bringing in reductions to maximum stakes on fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs).

Mims Davies is the new Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

Ms Davies, who is seen as a May loyalist, is replaced in her previous post by Nigel Adams who becomes Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Wales Office, and also an assistant Government whip.

Ms Crouch provoked turmoil for the Government when she resigned during the Budget debate in protest at plans not to cut the maximum wager on FOBTs from £100 to £2 until October 2019, instead of the widely expected date of next April.

The ministerial changes came afetr Chancellor Philip Hammond said the October, 2019 date was brought-in to ensure an “orderly” process for the gaming industry.

An impact assessment published in May last year suggested that the new curb should be implemented within 9-12 months. But Mr Hammond said that following engagement with the industry, it was decided that October 2019 – 12 months after the Budget – would be a “sensible” date to introduce the change.

The chair of the House of Commons Treasury Committee, Nicky Morgan, told Mr Hammond that two people were estimated to take their own lives every day as a result of gambling problems.

“It is the case, isn’t it, that the Government has prioritised the preservation of jobs in the gambling industry over the addiction of those who suffer from these machines?” she asked the Chancellor.

Giving evidence to the committee, Mr Hammond said: “I have absolutely no love for these machines. I think they are terrible things.

Mr Hammond said that the reduction from £100 to £2 in the maximum stake for a FOBT would effectively mean their disappearance from the UK gambling market, as they will no longer be sufficiently profitable for High Street bookmakers to operate.

“The industry’s own estimate is that between 15,000 and 21,000 jobs will be lost as a consequence of the elimination of FOBTs. It is very clear that there will be a significant number of jobs lost and a significant number of High Street betting shops that will close,” he told the committee.

“By giving a sensible period of time for this to happen, we will be able to ensure that as many as possible of these job losses are dealt with through voluntary redundancy processes rather than compulsory redundancy processes.

“There has to be a balance between the different interests involved.”

He denied that the timing was dictated by the Treasury’s desire to maintain revenues from the machines, pointing out that there will be a simultaneous increase in taxes on online betting to make up for the lost cash.

Ms Morgan told him: “The trouble with that very rational analysis is that it doesn’t really help those who may end up taking their lives or suffering mental health problems due to gambling addiction.”

But the Chancellor retorted that there were many areas of social policy – such as the regulation of tobacco or alcohol – where “steps could be taken which would no doubt have a positive impact in some areas but, because they have other impacts, are not taken”.

In her resignation letter, Ms Crouch said the implementation of changes had been delayed until October 2019 “due to commitments made by others to those with registered interests”.

She told BBC Radio 5 Live: “It’s a fact there are MPs very interested in the bookmaking industry and clearly they were more persuasive in their arguments than I was.”

In other moves announced by Downing Street, Jeremy Quin is now a Government whip as Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury.

And Gareth Johnson has been made assistant Government whip.