Hammond defends decision on timing of gambling machine stake limit

The Government is delaying the introduction of a £2 stake limit on fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) until October 2019 in order to ensure an “orderly” process for the gaming industry, Chancellor Philip Hammond has said.

Former sports minister Tracey Crouch resigned from the Government last week in protest at the six-month hold-up announced in Mr Hammond’s Budget to the plans she was overseeing.

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.

“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.”

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.”

Mr Hammond said that the date of April 2020 had initially been proposed for the introduction of the £2 maximum bet, but that this had been brought forward under pressure from campaigners. He said he was not aware of any early draft of the Budget containing an April 2019 date.

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.”