Halving the maximum stake on fixed odds betting terminals in bookmakers’ shops will not address the problem according to campaigners.

In later editions of yesterday’s Evening Times it was reported that a consultation will be carried out on reducing the stakes from the current £100 to between £2 and £50.

In Glasgow, gamblers lose £35m a year in the 800 FOBTs in the city’s 200 betting shops.

The machines have been labelled the “crack cocaine of gambling” with warnings of highly addictive behaviour and larger than normal losses putting people in debt.

The consultation recommends a reduction in the maximum stake and will also look at interventions during play and possibly increasing spin speeds to limit how much can be staked in a period of time.

Currently three spins a minute mean £300 can be lost in just sixty seconds on one machine alone

Glasgow has the highest losses of any UK city outside London with an average of £156,000 lost in every betting shop each year.

Tracey Crouch, the UK Gambling Minister, said: “Given the strong evidence and public concerns about the risks of high stakes gaming machines on the high street, we are convinced of the need for action.

“That is why today we have set out a package of proposals to ensure all consumers and wider communities are protected.”

However, instead of looking at the option of cutting the stake to £50 opposition MPs and campaigners said that is not enough and want it reduced right down to £2.

Scottish Labour Digital, Culture, Media and Sport spokeswoman, Danielle Rowley, said: “This response from the government should have gone much further.

“Today an addict can lose £100 every 20 seconds on these machines. That is why Labour wants to see the maximum stake capped at £2, anything less would not be good enough.”

Glasgow also has more betting shops than most other cities and the shops, and therefore machines, are also more likely to be in poorer communities.

Previously Glasgow City council has called for tougher enforcement measures to be available to reduce the number of machines and shops.

It warned more bookies meant more bets and more losses.

Church leaders also called for the stake to be cut to £2.

The Church of Scotland, Salvation Army, The Church of England, The Methodist Church, the United Reformed Church, The Baptist Union of Great Britain, CARE, The Evangelical Alliance and Quaker Action on Alcohol and Drugs all call for the strongest possible action on FOBTs.

In a joint statement, they said: “Fixed odds betting terminals present serious problems in society and for local communities, families and individuals.

“Evidence links them to patterns of addictive behaviour, large financial losses and anti-social and criminal behaviour.”

It welcomed the consultation but criticised the possibility of a £50 stake as insufficient.

It added: “We stand by the belief that the maximum stake on fixed odds betting terminals must be radically reduced from the current maximum stake of £100.

“Most of us are committed to a £2 maximum.”

The bookies however said problem gambling covers many products not only FOBTs and measures must be targeted at genuine problem gamblers.

They also warned of closures and job losses if betting shops were targeted.

A spokesman for the Association of British Bookmakers, said: “We know that most problem gamblers use 7 or more different types of gambling products, therefore there is a challenge for the whole gambling industry to move from a position where there is a stable level of problem gambling in this country to one where problem gambling rates are decreasing.

“Betting shops are investing very significant sums of money to help identify those at risk so that they get the help that they need, and we are continually updating and working to improve responsible gambling measures, as evidenced by our ongoing work to raise awareness about the risks of problem gambling with young people in schools across the West of Scotland.”