Gambling firms will be expected to carry alcohol-style health warnings on the risks of products from Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBTs) to online bets on sports matches to combat addiction.

The Gambling Commission, the industry’s regulator, is to adopt a “public health” approach where it works with other agencies to treat gambling as a potential disease with the firms required to give customers up-front messages about the dangers.

It says firms will face increasingly heavy fines if they fail to “mitigate” the harms from gambling including suicide, loss of employment, debt, crime, mental ill health and family breakdown. 888 Holdings was last year fined a record £7.8 million for failing to help vulnerable customers.

The Commission also backed a levy on firms to enable more problem gamblers are treated for addiction. Only two per cent of the 340,000 problem gamblers in the UK currently receive treatment, while a further 1.7 million are classed as at risk of developing a problem.

Unveiling its new strategy yesterday, Tim Miller, the Commission’s executive director, said its partnership with Public Health England would be critical in developing effective health messages: “We expect consumers to get more information about potential risks.

“We have a moment here to bring gambling harms out of the shadows. So many people I have spoken to feel there is a stigma that isn’t attached to other forms of addiction.”