High-stakes gaming machines that were introduced in their thousands after a relaxation of the gambling laws are causing serious addiction problems, evidence from the first NHS gambling clinic suggests.

Almost two thirds of people admitted to the National Problem Gambling Clinic are suffering from habits exacerbated by games terminals found in all of Britain’s 8,500 betting shops, The Times has learnt.

An internal audit carried out by the clinic — offering the first robust clinical statistics on the triggers for problem gambling — reveals that more than 60 out of more than 100 people referred have addictions that are encouraged by fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs).

There are 27,000 of these terminals offering prizes of £500 for bets as low as 25p on games such as roulette, blackjack and virtual racing.

Bookmakers installed thousands of fixed-odds terminals after Gordon Brown, when he was Chancellor of the Exchequer, abolished the duty on individual bets in favour of a tax on bookmakers’ profits in 2001.

Responding to concerns about the terminals’ addictive format, which has been described as “the crack cocaine of gambling”, the Government agreed to draw up a code of practice limiting bookmakers to four machines per venue and a maximum £500 win. Critics said that the restriction did little to control a form of quick-fire betting on which users could lose £1,000 in less than half an hour.

The pioneering NHS gambling clinic, which opened in Soho ten weeks ago and is part of the the Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust, is the first free clinician-led treatment programme and has provided statistics on the types of problem gambling and their effects. It is hoped that the model, which has funding from the gambling industry, will be introduced around the country.

The Gambling Commission, the industry watchdog, recently concluded that there were between 250,000 and 300,000 problem gamblers in Britain — about 0.6 per cent of the adult population. Government studies of prevalence suggest that it has not increased over the past decade, despite the arrival of FOTBs and hundreds of online gaming websites.

Henrietta Bowden-Jones, a consultant psychiatrist who set up the gambling clinic, said that the evidence of habits emerging from the flood of referrals emphasised the importance of NHS involvement. Until now, gambling treatment has been offered by self-help groups, charities and private clinics that are beyond the limited budgets of most problem gamblers.

“We are building up the first proper evidence-based data set, which can show the triggers and levels of addiction, the spend, the frequency and the negative consequences,” she said, adding that she intended to publish a full audit of findings later in the year.

“We were not really prepared for the level of demand for the service,” she said, adding that the main cause of gambling problems appeared to be FOBTs, online sites and race betting. “A lot of people who start off betting on horses and dogs, and have started to develop a problem, have migrated to FOBTs and online sites. It’s the immediacy of the gratification, the cycle of excitement. It is the way the machine taps into the reward pathways of the brain. Games like roulette are what people are becoming really addicted to.

“I have people coming into my clinic who have not eaten properly for months. They are emaciated because they are on such tight food budgets because of their debts.”

Dr Bowden-Jones, who is to join a government gambling strategy board, said that most referrals — of which 60 per cent were self-referrals — were from men aged between 18 and 75, including many successful professionals. The clinic hopes to reach out to female gamblers, who were under-represented among referrals so far.

After an initial psychiatric assessment, people who come to the clinic sign up for nine weeks of one-to-one cognitive behavioural therapy. Neil Smith, a clinical psychologist, said that this concentrated on understanding behaviour triggers, developing strategies to counter temptation and controlling a person’s spending cycle.

A spokeswoman for GamCare, the industry-funded counselling service, said that betting on horses and dogs was still the main cause for concern but that FOBTs seemed to be particularly attractive to problem gamblers. “Certain measures could be taken such as limiting spendand interrupting play,” she said.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has asked the Gambling Commission to investigate the link between FOBTs and an increase in problem gamblers. The commission will submit its findings in the summer.

Russ Phillips, chief executive of the Association of British Bookmakers, welcomed NHS involvement in the sector. “It needs to take a bigger role,” he said. “But people must remember that problem gambling is not simple — it’s complex, with many factors involved. Even if you were to take drastic action \, how does that help the problem gambler? It may mean they just move elsewhere.”

DCMS spokesman said:

"Ministers have made it clear that they view with concern the growing popularity of these fixed odds machines offering high prizes.

“At our request, the Gambling Commission is making a high priority research to identify the risks these machines may pose in relation to problem gambling and they will provide an update and recommendations by this summer.

“The Gambling Act gave us tough new powers to ensure that young people and vulnerable people are protected more effectively than ever before - and if this detailed research confirms that these machines are a particular problem, we will not hesitate to use our powers under the Act to take further action. "

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