The Government is facing a bruising defeat in the House of Commons next week after Labour MPs, SNPs MPs, Conservative rebels and the DUP signed up to force the Government to accelerate a planned cut to the maximum stake on FOBTs.

In total, nearly 90 MPs signed amendments to the Finance Bill (No 3) which would fast-track the maximum stake reduction to April 2019.

It follows the resignation of former sports minister Tracey Crouch who stepped down over the Chancellor’s decision to delay the cut until October next year.

Ms Crouch said it was a ‘fact’ that some MPs are interested in the bookmaking industry.

If the cross-party coalition of MPs are successful, it would be the first time for 40 years that a Government has lost a vote on its own budget.

The last time was when Labour’s minority government lost a Budget vote on income tax rates in 1978.

This week it also emerged that the Treasury have been using figures about potential job losses as a result of the stake reduction that come from a bookie-funded and widely discredited report.

CARE’s response:

CARE’s James Mildred said: “The sooner the maximum stake on highly addictive FOBTs is cut the better.

“These machines offer a toxic combination of high speed play and an absurdly high maximum stake and punters can lose big sums of money incredibly quickly.

“In his recent Budget, the Chancellor chose to prioritise the interests of gambling firms over the interests of vulnerable problem gamblers.

“The strength of feeling across the Commons clearly runs very high and to avoid an embarrassing defeat, the Government should make sure it acts.”

Find out more:

LISTEN: to CARE’s James Mildred talking to BBC Radio Kent about the delay to the maximum stake reduction on FOBTs

READ: how a new gambling exclusion tool CARE helped to improve is changing people’s lives

FOLLOW: latest updates on CARE’s ongoing work on problem gambling