Fixed odds betting TERMINATED

MINISTERS are set to rein in bigearning bookies with a £2 maximum on fixed odds gaming machines.

The Sunday People has learned that Sports Minister Tracey Crouch has made the decision to go for the lowest stake possible, ignoring proposals from the Gambling Commission to allow £30 bets.

The terminals can currently swallow £100 every 20 seconds.

But in a massive victory for the Sunday People, Ms Crouch’s decision will effectively make the addictive machines unplayable.

A Whitehall source told us: “We’re going for the £2 option. No question about it. And you can tell your readers that.”

Ms Crouch had already made clear she would slash the amount the fixed odds betting terminals could rake in.

But until her review of gaming machines is published later this month she was keeping the exact figure close to her chest.

A £2 stake will fulfil a long-term ambition for Ms Crouch, who campaigned for the cut before she joined the Government.

David Cameron shelved her plans when he was PM – but Theresa May gave her the go-ahead when she moved into Downing

Street. Research by arcade trade body Bacta shows vulnerable gamblers can only be protected from catastrophic losses by setting the maximum stake at £2.

Campaigning Labour MP Carolyn Harris said: “This is fantastic news. I’ve seen the devastating impact these machines can have, and the blight they cause to communities.

“I’m proud of everyone who has worked on this campaign and want to thank the Sunday People for standing shoulder-toshoulder with us all the way.”

Bacta boss John White said: “We were deeply concerned by the Gambling Commission’s advice.

“Only a £2 stake maximum can help protect vulnerable people from major losses.”

A £2 limit is backed by 93 local authorities, the Royal Society for Public Health and the Church of England’s General Synod.

A Yougov survey of more than 100 MPS found 62 per cent were also in favour of it.

FOBTS swallow £1.8billion a year – and give bookies 56 per cent of their profits.