There is a single type of gambling machine responsible for more than 96 per cent of losses of £1,000 or more in betting shops, it is claimed.

Dubbed the “hardcore form of gambling”, that machine is the Fixed Odd Betting Terminal (FOBT), a gambling machine that allows players to bet on the outcome of games with fixed odds, such as roulette.

BACTA, the trade association for amusement and arcade gaming machines, has highlighted statistics showing how these machines have been linked to gambling addiction.

They are also frequently the cause of physical violence and are part of the cause of increased police call-outs to betting shops, BACTA said.

In 2014, police recorded a 51 per cent increase in reported incidents at betting shops where they had to be called out.

There are more than 230,000 gambling sessions a year where consumers lose more than £1,000, according to figures by the Gambling Commission, with 650 leading to losses of more than £5,000.

One of the main reasons for these individual losses is because FOBT machines have a much higher maximum allowable stake.

The maximum is a £100, which marks them as a significant anomaly among high-street gaming machines.

Unless you were to go to a specialist casino, every other widely available machine has a maximum £2 stake.

Organisations are now stepping in to put pressure on the Government to help protect people with gambling addictions and to save them from throwing vast sums of money into these machines.

John White, BACTA chief executive, has spearheaded the campaign to shine a light on the financial and social destruction gambling can cause.

BACTA president Jason Frost said: “Fixed-odds betting terminals are a hardcore form of gambling, entirely unsuitable for everyday high-street venues.

“With stake limits at £100, 50 times that of any other widely available gaming machine, they allow consumers and at-risk gamblers to rack up huge losses.

“As the Gambling Commission’s figures show, the vast majority of everyday punters who are making major losses are doing so at these addictive betting shop machines at higher stakes.

“They endanger consumers, foster a culture of violence and aggression, and undermine the whole amusement industry’s work to create a socially responsible environment for gaming that puts player protection first.

“We urge DCMS (Department for Culture, Media and Sport) to do the right and necessary thing and order a substantial reduction in FOBT stakes.”

The Government has said it is going to review the current levels on gambling machines.

In October last year, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport announced a new review into gaming machines.

This included a specific focus on the £100 stake levels on FOBTs currently.

The proposals do face significant opposition from the Association of British Bookmakers, calling the report “deeply flawed” and claiming it was funded by rivals of British bookies.

The association have claimed that there is no relationship between gaming machines in bookmakers and problem gambling.

Malcolm George, chief executive of the Association of British Bookmakers, said: “This is a deeply flawed report funded by vested interests who would directly benefit if its recommendations are ever implemented.

“The report is the view of a tiny group of anti-betting shop MP. This group has been financed by those with interests in the casino, arcade and pub industries.

“This group of MPs has operated in secrecy, provided no transcripts of the evidence given to their meetings and operated throughout behind closed doors away from public scrutiny.

“Britain’s bookmakers employ more than 43,000 staff and contribute over £1 billion a year in taxes.

“But, betting shops are already closing at the rate of more than 100 a year and if the findings of this rigged report are implemented, it could spell the beginning of the end for the High Street bookmaker.”

In response to BACTA's claims about gambling machines, an Association of British Bookmakers spokesman said: "It is simply untrue to say machines in betting shops are responsible for 96 per cent of gambling addicts' losses.

"There were 10 per cent more, or 257,000, gambling sessions where the customer won more than £1,000 last year in betting shops.

"It is also factually incorrect that police recorded a 51 per cent increase in incidents at betting shops. 

"There is no evidence linking machines to gambling addiction – as confirmed by regulators, the Gambling Commission.

"These claims are made by commercial rivals of Britain's bookies who are calling for an increase in staking levels on the 68,000 gaming machines in arcades.

"Arcades should follow betting shops’ lead by not advertising machines in shop windows, displaying responsible gambling information on screens, not permitting ATMs on site and enabling customers to set spend and time limits.

"Betting shops provide 43,000 good jobs, contribute over a £1 billion a year in taxes and remain the safest places to have a flutter."