Its use is now extended to

GPs are being forced to prescribe gamblers anti-addiction drugs in an attempt to tackle Britain's betting epidemic.

The medication naltrexone is usually given to those with severe drug and alcohol problems, including heroin addicts.

But it was revealed today that the NHS is now giving the drugs to compulsive gamblers who are unable fight their 'cravings'.

GPs are prescribing the worst gamblers anti-addiction drugs in a bid to tackle Britain's betting epidemic

The first clinic to prescribe the drug was the National Problem Gambling Clinic in London, which handed the medication to a patient in November as part of a pilot scheme.

Under the treatment service, commissioned by the Responsible Gambling Trust, it has since treated four more patients who were unable to helped through other methods.

Dr Henrietta Bowden-Jones, a researcher from the clinic, said: 'The medication is used to stop the most compulsive gamblers who are resistant to treatment. It helps stop craving.'

The trust which runs the National Problem Gambling Clinic says the course of treatment costs about £68 per patient for three months, or £272 a year.

Last year GPs referred almost 1,000 of the country’s worst problem gamblers to the clinic for help.

Recent figures show there are now more than half a million problem gamblers in Britain, indicating the impact of the expanding industry.

Meanwhile, calls to GamCare, the country's leading helpline which offers counselling to addicts, rose by one third last year.

The medication naltrexone is usually given to those with severe drug and alcohol problems

According to the charity, half of the 40,000 people who called the helpline were suffering either financial difficulty or relationship breakdown as a result of gambling.

The worrying statistics have led campaigners to accuse ministers of allowing the gambling industry to spiral out of control, despite links to mental health problems, family breakdown and crime.

Their main argument centres around fixed-odds betting terminals, dubbed the 'crack cocaine' of gambling, which cause untold misery by allowing users to stake £100 a time on games including roulette and poker.

In the past five years, the number of people addicted to FOBTs has jumped more than 50 per cent.

FOBTs were introduced on to Britain’s high streets a decade ago after tax reforms by then Chancellor Gordon Brown left a loophole in the law.

The machines were initially declared illegal by the Labour Government on the basis that roulette bets may only be made in a casino.

However it backed down after bookmakers argued that since the ‘spin of the wheel’ was made offshore in tax havens such as Gibraltar, such machines should be allowed.

Under new controls introduced last April, players now have to seek permission from staff to stake more than £50.

HOW LABOUR UNLEASHED FIXED ODDS FREE-FOR-ALL Fixed-odds betting terminals were brought in by Labour in 2001 and were never properly regulated, allowing them to spread across high streets. Baroness Tessa Jowell, the party’s former culture secretary, has admitted it was her reforms that led to the free-for-all the terminals became. She was in post when they were introduced, and four years later she brought in flawed laws to regulate them. Labour’s 2005 Gambling Act, which gave the Gambling Commission the power to step in to regulate the terminals, has been criticised for not being strong enough. Baroness Jowell blamed the commission, saying it should have done more to take action against the machines. She called for planning regulations to restrict the number of betting shops and therefore the number of terminals. Advertisement

Figures show there are now more than half a million problem gamblers in Britain, while calls to the country's leading helpline GamCare, which offers counselling to addicts, rose by a third last year (posed by model)

But figures obtained last month by the Fairer Gambling campaign group reveal that Ladbrokes alone now makes more than £1,000 per week per machine – up 9 per cent in just one year.

Ladbrokes said its growth came mainly from £2 stakes and it took responsible gambling very seriously. But Adrian Parkinson from Fairer Gambling said the rise in profits showed that self-regulation had failed.

Paddy Power’s weekly FOTB profits went up 4 per cent from £1,319 in the first six months of 2014 to £1,373 in the first six months of 2015.

And at Coral, profits went from £957 to £986 between the first nine months of 2014 and 2015 – up 3 per cent.

Last year, David Cameron’s former speechwriter, Claire Foges, urged him to clamp down on the ‘fiendishly seductive’ machines in an article for the Mail.

THE MINISTER WINED AND DINED BY BOOKMAKERS The minister in charge of gambling policy was wined and dined by bookmakers and industry bodies over two years. John Penrose, minister for heritage and tourism from 2010 to 2012, accepted hospitality to events such as Royal Ascot and the Cheltenham races. Over this period, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, where he was based, is accused of doing little to tackle the scourge of gambling. Mr Penrose is now a junior minister in the Cabinet Office, which has blocked a review into fixed-odds betting terminals demanded by Tracey Crouch, the new gambling minister. Official records show he accepted a wide range of hospitality. In 2010 this included dinner with the Horseracing Betting Levy Board. In 2011, it included drinks receptions thrown by Ladbrokes and The Tote, and in 2012 he was entertained by Gala Coral at Royal Ascot. Advertisement

Fixed-odds betting terminals (pictured) cause untold misery by allowing users to stake £100 a time on games including roulette and poker

Miss Foges, the Prime Minister’s former speechwriter, wrote that FOBTs were ‘sirens on the rocks to the weak-willed’.

In 2013, MPs published a report following a contentious year-long investigation into the betting trade.

In that report, MPs called on the Government to relax rules restricting gambling venues and machines.

The culture, media and sport select committee said councils should be able to allow more gambling machines in betting shops and casinos. The MPs also said the Gambling Commission should charge operators lower fees.

HOW NALTREXONE DRUG WORKS In order to work, addictive drugs stimulate brain receptors and produce a euphoric feeling. Naltrexone is attracted to the same receptors. Once it has latched on to them, the drugs have no effect and negate the 'high' feeling that makes users want to take them. The medicine is not a cure for addiction but is used as part of programme for addicts that may include counseling, support group meetings and other treatment. Advertisement

Yesterday Matt Zarb-Cousin, of the Campaign for Fairer Gambling, said: ‘The huge potential prizes per spin and rapid gameplay draw gamblers in but the high stakes can encourage players to chase their losses, snaring them in a trap that can lead to debt, family breakdown and crime.’

Figures from GamCare, a charity that offers counselling, showed half of the 40,000 callers it helped last year were suffering financial difficulty or relationship breakdown, while almost one in ten said their health has suffered. The number of calls from those addicted to betting machines has jumped more than 50 per cent in five years.

The Association of British Bookmakers said it was unaware of any evidence that problem gambling has increased.

The Association of British Bookmakers said: 'The industry works closely with government and regulators on responsible gambling initiatives.'

A spokesman for the culture and media department said: 'We introduced strong gambling controls last Apirl. This includes putting an end to unsupervised stakes about £50 on FOBTs and giving more power to local authorities to stop new betting shops opening up in the area.'

A National Problem Gambling Clinic spokesman said it has treated five people with naltrexone since it began trialling the drug in November 2015.

This involves a course of three months' supply at a cost of £68 per person, they said.

'This is a valid treatment for problem gambling for whom other treatments have not worked,' the spokesman said.

'The pilot is designed to establish clinical effectiveness and demand in a UK population of problem gamblers, prior to any decision being made on expanding this medication to form a front line treatment for problem gambling.

'The pilot is delivered as part of the treatment service commissioned by the Responsible Gambling Trust.