MP threatens government over betting measures

Update:

The maximum bet on fixed-odds betting terminals will be cut from April after the government bowed to pressure.

Clwyd South MP Susan Elan Jones has vowed that Theresa May’s Government will be the first to be defeated in a Finance Bill vote for 40 years unless it changes its stance on fixed odds betting terminals.

Ms Jones (pictured), who is a member of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Fixed Odds Betting Terminals, was one of the first MPs to sign a cross-party backbench amendment to the Finance Bill calling for the maximum stake on the gambling machines to be reduced from £100 to £2 from April 2019.

She said: “This is not about having a light flutter. Fixed Odds Betting Terminals are called the ‘crack cocaine’ of gambling because they’re highly addictive machines that are causing people to lose up to £16,000 a day. I’ve questioned Government Ministers about this and made it clear we need to act fast.

“Either the Government supports our amendment and we deal with this problem together or we  - a combination of cross-party backbenchers supported by the Labour Party front-bench - will use our votes in Parliament to defeat the Government. Too many people’s lives are being affected and we can’t wait any longer.”