A pilot scheme which will offer free treatment for gambling addiction is to be rolled out in the UK in the coming weeks and months.

The British Medical Association has expressed serious concerns about the increase in gambling addiction in Britain, and had urged the government to make it a condition treatable on the NHS. Senior doctors have also suggested that the gambling industry should contribute £10m a year to pay for treatment.

If the new "Soho Problem Gambling Clinic" in central London proves to be beneficial, campaigners hope it will encourage the government to consider setting up more specialised centres in communities around the UK.

The clinic is funded by the gaming industry, through the Responsibility in Gambling Trust and will open as councils across Britain invite bids for 16 large and small casinos under the Gambling Act 2005.

It will be run by the Central and North-West London NHS Foundation Trust and headed by addictions expert and consultant psychiatrist Dr Henrietta Bowden-Jones.

Bowden-Jones said "We will treat not just the problem gambler but any member of their family and people affected by their addiction. We are at present purely an outpatient service but would be keen to be funded for in-patient beds for extreme cases when gamblers may become suicidal because of debts."

A 2007 national survey of the £9billion-a-year industry showed one in five problem gamblers become addicted.

A significant part of the development was that the funding for the new clinic will come predominantly from the gaming industry. However, it is unclear if any company has contributed to the new scheme.

Currently, there are only a few clinics able to treat the addiction are either run by charities or are private and charge large sums of money, something addicts usually don’t have much of by the time they need treatment.

The new scheme is set to start in September this year, from one clinic in central London.