Video roulette machines found in betting shops have been labeled as the ‘crack cocaine of gambling’ according to the Guardian newspaper.

Estimates produced for the daily paper by a leading government adviser show £650m a year is taken from punters by the video roulette terminals - a sum almost matching the conventional casino industry's entire takings.

In a special report the Guardian estimates that the amount of money lost by British gamblers will exceed £10bn annually next year - a rise of 50% in nine years, and the biggest jump since the 1960s.
 
They say the losses have been driven by abolition of betting duty, the emergence of online betting, poker and casino sites, and a steady unwinding of regulatory constraints.

But they say the biggest single drain comes from video roulette terminals in betting shops.

The Gambling Commission said in a report this month that one in nine people who played touch-screen roulette were classified as addictive or problem gamblers - the strongest link in any form of gambling.
 
Despite early pledges to ban the terminals, the government pushed through its Gambling Act in 2005 legitimising betting shop roulette and bringing it under the commission.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport told the paper that "[Roulette machines] are still on probation. We will monitor them closely."

Jeremy Hunt, the shadow culture secretary, said "Gordon Brown has used abandoning the super casino as a red herring - as the report shows, the real cause of problem gambling lies with betting shop roulette machines and internet gambling, and the Gambling Act has failed to address either of these. We need a clear strategy from the government"
 
One in four calls to a helpline charity, Gamcare, are over betting shop roulette. Anthony Jennens, its chairman, said "They're easily accessible, rapid-play, and you win or lose rapid rewards - hallmarks of games which tend to addiction."