Fixed odd betting terminal crackdown delayed until after local elections

  • Decision has been put off until after the local elections at the start of May
  • Whitehall sources have said Philip Hammond was responsible for the hold-up
  • Campaigners say maximum outlay on fixed odd betting terminals should be £2 

A crackdown on highly addictive gambling machines has been delayed again, the Daily Mail can reveal.

Ministers were expected to announce within days a new maximum stake on fixed odds betting terminals.

But the decision has been put off until after the local elections at the start of May because of rows at the top of government. Whitehall sources said Philip Hammond was responsible for the hold-up.

The Chancellor is refusing to sign off cutting the stake to £2 for fear it could lose hundreds of millions in gambling tax revenues. The law allows bets of up to £100 every 20 seconds – in theory allowing players to gamble away £18,000 an hour.

The crackdown on highly addictive gambling machines has been put off until after the local elections at the start of May because of rows at the top of government (file photo)

Critics of fixed odds terminals – dubbed the crack cocaine of gambling – say the lowest possible stake is needed to combat the rising tide of addiction, debt, violence, and family breakdown in the poorest communities in Britain.

Church groups, MPs and campaigners against gambling addiction say the maximum outlay per spin should be £2.

Brian Chappell, founder of campaign group Justice4Punters, said: ‘Local communities, especially vulnerable people within them are harmed every day this decision is delayed.’

The Mail revealed last week that Tory rebels are threatening to vote against allowing any maximum stake higher than £5. The Treasury raked in nearly £500million from the machines last year. Players lost a combined £1.7billion. 

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