November 19, 2018

In a written statement on 14 November 2018, the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Jeremy Wright MP, announced that the Government would bring forward the reduction of FOBT stakes from £100 to £2 to April 2019.

The Government had already decided, following a consultation on Gaming Machines and Social Responsibility measures, to cut the maximum stake for FOBT to £2 to help stop extreme losses by those who can least afford it and protect the most vulnerable in our society. However, the date of implementation had been delayed to October 2019 in last month’s Budget.

Mr Wright said that Parliament had “been clear that they want this change to be made sooner” and that the Government had listened and would now implement the reduction in April 2019.

Mr Wright explained that, in order to cover the negative impact on the public finances, and to protect vital public services, the change was being linked to an increase in Remote Gaming Duty paid by online gaming operators, and that the Finance Bill would be amended so that this increase would also come into effect in April 2019.

Mr Wright said that the Government “will expect the gambling industry to work with it to reduce the effect of any impact on jobs and to support employees that may be affected by this expedited timeline”.

Tracey Crouch MP, who had resigned from her Ministerial position over the Government’s decision to delay the stake reduction, said in a statement “I am pleased that common sense has prevailed”. To read Mr Wright’s statement on the TheyWorkForYou website, click here. To read Ms Crouch’s statement on Facebook, click here.