Addictive computer games are "casting a dark shadow over the colourful world of childhood play", the Church of England has warned.

The right reverend Dr Alan Smith, the bishop of St Albans, told the Telegraph that companies were “flooding” games with “harmful products” that were “gambling with children’s lives”.

The bishop is now calling on the Government to ban the sale to children of video game ‘loot boxes’, in-game features which dispense randomised digital items, describing them as a “gateway to gambling”.

His warning comes after Culture Select Committee last week said that the loophole in UK gambling legislation that allows loot boxes to be sold to minors should be closed.

Following an investigation into addictive technologies, MPs also urged that any games containing loot boxes be clearly labeled gambling and rate over 18.