The UK Department of Digital, Culture, Media & Sports has appointed Eastleigh MP Miriam ‘Mims’ Davies as new UK Sports Minister replacing Tracey Crouch.
The appointment comes after Crouch resigned to protest a delay in setting a new maximum bet on fixed odds betting terminals to £2. That change has been pushed back to October 2019.
Davies is currently Junior Wales Office Minister and will be charged with overseeing the UK government’s relationship with the betting/gambling industry in her new role. Davies has previously worked as a communications executive for the BBC, AA and national police force.
The delay in implementing the FOBT cut continues to draw sharp criticism in the UK as advocates for problem gamblers say the government is putting gambling sector jobs ahead of vulnerable problem gamblers. The current maximum bet allowed on the FOBTs is £100, and advocates say problem gamblers can lose fortunes on the machines in a matter of minutes.
In a letter to UK Prime Minister Teresa May, Crouch said the stake cut was being delayed “due to commitments made by others to those with registered interests.”
“From the time of the announcement to reduce stakes and its implementation, £1.6 billion will be lost on these machines, a significant amount of which will be in our most deprived areas, including my own constituency,” Crouch wrote. “In addition, two people will tragically take their lives every day due to gambling-related problems and for that reason as much as any other I believe this delay is unjustifiable.”
May, however, replied that there has been no delay as the cuts were first planned for April 2020, though Crouch has pushed for the cuts to go into effect in April 2019, which was widely expected.
UK Treasurer Phillip Hammond maintains that a transition period is needed for the UK betting industry to adjust to new business conditions which could lead to 15-20,000 UK jobs being lost.
“I have absolutely no love for these machines,” Hammond told SBC News. “I think they are terrible things. But Government has to manage this process in an orderly and sensible way. We are looking at a measure which will have a very significant impact on the industry.”
However, the issue is likely to continue to be played out in parliament as many MPs are passionate about enacting the cuts, according to UK media reports. As many as 35 parliament MPs are planning to try and attach an amendment to the country’s budget bill to move up implementation of the cuts.
