Fixed-odds betting terminals — described as the “crack cocaine of gambling” — will be subject to new curbs after Philip Hammond dropped his opposition to limiting their maximum stake, The Times can reveal.

The issue has caused divisions in Whitehall, with the Treasury resisting proposals by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to cut the maximum stake because they would cost £400 million a year in lost tax revenues.

Theresa May has backed the DCMS and campaigners who argued that the fixed-odds terminals (FOBTs) were disproportionately sited in deprived areas and caused significant social harm.

A survey by the Gambling Commission found that a third of the 1.45 million people who used the machines were at risk of becoming addicts. It also indicated