Cut stake on ‘crack cocaine’ bet machines to £2, says MP

THE maximum stake on ‘crack cocaine’ gambling machines should be slashed from £100 to £2, according to an aide to Chancellor Philip Hammond.

In a damning report published today, Tory MP Chris Philp backs a crackdown on the fixed odds betting terminals.

The study, by the ResPublica think-tank, reveals Britain is the only rich country that allows gamblers to stake £100 every 20 seconds on casino-style games on the high street.

It warns that 1.5million people – one in 40 of the population – now use the machines and says they cause disproportionate harm to poorer areas.

The report’s co-author, Phillip Blond, a conservative thinker, says Theresa May should prioritise controlling machines that she has described as ‘a sink hole on the high street’.

Mr Blond said: ‘Conservatives should not support a piece of New Labour legislation that has wrought destruction throughout some of our most disadvantaged communities.’

The report – and Mr Philp’s comments – will be seen as a further sign that ministers are poised to take action.