Watson: 'Greed has triumphed' on betting machines delay
Tom Watson has accused the Government of 'allowing greed to triumph over good' after a planned reduction in betting machine stakes was delayed.
Downing Street has confirmed it has put back a move to slash the maximum stake on fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) from £100 to £2 until October next year.
The new legislation, which had been widely supported by MPs and gambling charities, was due to come in by April.
But it has been delayed to allow bookmakers and the gambling industry to adjust to the change – as well as helping Treasury coffers – with the lower stake expected to cost billions of pounds in reduced gaming duty over five years.
The shortfall will be made up by an increase in the tax on online casino games from 15 per cent to 21 per cent, which was announced in the Budget on Monday.
West Bromwich East MP Mr Watson has pushed for tighter regulations on FOBTs – dubbed the crack cocaine of gambling – through his review on gambling addiction.
Commenting on the delay, Labour's deputy leader and shadow culture secretary said: "By rolling back on their promises, the government are allowing greed to triumph over good as the bookies trouser an additional £900m in revenue."
Former Conservative party leader Iain Duncan Smith is one of a number of Tory MPs pushing against the timetable change. He says he wants the deadline moved back to April or May.
Campaigners say FOBTs are hugely addictive and cause devastating social damage. Carolyn Harris, the Labour MP who chairs an all-party parliamentary group on the machines, said the delay was 'immoral and exploitative'.
Tory MP Sarah Wollaston hit out at the gambling industry, saying: “The power of the industry lobbying at Westminster is sickening.”
Theresa May’s spokeswoman said the new October deadline was 'a balance between making sure we protect those who work in the industry and making sure that we bring in this really important change'.
The Campaign for Fairer Gambling described the move as unacceptable.
