The Government has backed down over changes to gambling machine betting limits after coming under pressure from MPs.
Initially, the Treasury had planned to reduce the limit on bets that could be placed at fixed odds betting machines from £100 to just £2 by 2020. According to Christian campaign group CARE, the 2020 deadline was because of concerns over lost tax revenue.
When the Chancellor announced in the October Budget that the changes would come into effect by October 2019, several MPs from across Parliament tabled amendments pushing the Government to introduce the new limit by April next year.
Faced with a parliamentary defeat, the Government has now reportedly backed down and agreed to bring the new betting limit into effect by April 2019.
CARE said it was a 'stunning victory' against gambling machines it says are highly addictive and damaging to families and mental health.
The controversy prompted the resignation of Sports Minister Tracey Crouch, who welcomed the climbdown by saying 'common sense' had prevailed.
CARE's James Mildred said fixed odds betting machines tended to be located in economically deprived areas and that any delay to introducing the £2 limit would have put more people at risk.
'This reduction in stake will significantly decrease the harm these machines cause as it will no longer be combine with a toxic high speed play,' he said.
'This is only the first step though. The damaging effects of gambling are becoming more visible across society and the Government must introduce legislation to tackle this.'
He warned of an 'epidemic' of child problem gamblers in the UK, after the Gambling Commission recently reported that there are around 25,000 people aged between 11 and 16 who are addicted to gambling.
Mr Mildred said current gambling legislation was failing to properly address the issue and that the law needs to be brought into line with recent technological developments that have changed the way people gamble.
'We can't be simply rely on outdated law and voluntary codes to tackle the UK's gambling problems,' he said.
'The Government needs to accept that inaction is going to make Britain's problem gambling public health crisis worse and unless change is forthcoming, it's going to be children who are losing out.'
