THE Government faces near certain defeat in the Commons over its attempts to delay curbs on controversial gambling machines.
Some 76 MPs, including at least 20 Tory rebels, have now backed new amendments to the Finance Bill demanding Chancellor Philip Hammond bring forward a cut in the maximum stake on Fixed Odd Betting Terminals (FOBTs) from October to April.
Earlier this month Tracey Crouch quit as the Government’s sports minister to protest delays to the crackdown that will see the maximum stake being cut from £100 to £2.
She, along with former foreign secretary Boris Johnson, Justine Greening, Jacob Rees Mogg, and David Davis have all backed amendments, tabled by Iain Duncan Smith, Labour MP Carolyn Harris, and the SNP’s Ronnie Cowan.
Cowan told The National that the Chancellor needed to act to save lives.
He said: “There is cross-party support in bringing forward the implementation date of a £2 maximum unit stake on FOBTs, in-order to effectively tackle the highly-addictive nature of these machines.”
A new charity, Gambling with Lives, founded by the bereaved families of people with gambling addiction who have completed suicide, is set to launch in the House of Commons this afternoon.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here