Tracey Crouch Tells Iain Dale Why Resigning Over FOBT Was Right For The Policy

18 December 2018, 20:51

Tracey Crouch says that resigning as Minister for Sport, Civil Society and Loneliness over delays to reducing the maximum stake on betting machines was the right thing to do despite it being her favourite job in government.

The former sports Minister resigned her position after the Chancellor delayed implementing a cut to the maximum stake of Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBTs) from £100 to £2.

Tracey Crouch, who had published a review into stakes and prizes on gambling products, had called for the stake reduction to come into force 'as soon as possible' but was let down by the Treasury when they announced in the budget it would be implemented a year later.

Speaking to Iain Dale, she said: "I was actually in the air on the way to Washington and I ended up paying for Wi-Fi on the plane just so that I could see what was happening while I was mid-air over the Atlantic and then wished I hadn't.

"I've met so many people who have been affected by these machines and you hear at LBC and I know you Iain on your show have heard so many tales of people whose lives have been absolutely decimated because of gambling," she said.

"And I think that when you've sat and you've listened to the tales of addicts as I had, or you've met families of people who have lost their loved ones to suicide because of gambling, I think that it's something that you can't just put aside.

"You can't park it for another 6 months.

"So I resigned, I did give up a job I loved but it lit a spark that hopefully lit the fuse that changed the policy."