Helpline for gamblers sees calls rocket by one third

More than 30,000 called the service run by the charity Gamcare compared with under 23,000 in the previous year. The average debt was more than £13,000.

Evidence of fast-rising levels of misery brought about by the gambling boom came as a fresh blow to Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell.

Her plans are in deep trouble after Lords rejected her plan for a supercasino in Manchester last week, and Chancellor Gordon Brown's Budget hit her hopes of attracting online betting companies to Britain by hitting them with 15 per cent gaming duty on their websites.

Political opponents called the Gamcare figures "worrying" and urged Miss Jowell to do more to protect the vulnerable from getting into difficulties.

Gamcare said the dramatic increase could be a result of increased media interest in gambling than a real jump in numbers of people with problems.

But it also disclosed that the most common way that callers found out about the helpline was the Yellow Pages.

Only one caller in 80 had heard about it from newspapers or broadcasters.

The Gamcare figures come in the wake of warnings from academic researchers that the boom in online betting - which follows a sevenfold increase in gambling on sports events over the past six years - threaten to produce a million new addicts each year and put gambling problems on the same level as drug abuse.

The charity said the 30,247 calls to its helpline last year meant a 33.9 per cent increase on the year before.

There was a slight increase in the number of women problem gamblers: they now make up 13.2 per cent, just under one in eight, of callers.

Two thirds of callers were gamblers themselves, and a quarter were from worried family members. Most commonly, those needing help were aged between 26 and 35.

Just under a third of those in trouble were losing money betting.

Around a fifth were involved in gambling on fixed odds terminals commonly found in betting shops, and another fifth were playing fruit machines.

Around one in seven were betting on the Internet and one in 12 were using casinos.

Women problem gamblers were more likely than men to be putting money into fruit machines, playing bingo, betting in casinos or using internet gambling sites.

Around six out of ten male gamblers were using betting shops.

The average debt of callers who disclosed what they owed was £13,867, but one in eight had debts over £20,000 and one in 100 had gambling debts of more than £100,000.

Adrian Scarfe, Gamcare's head of clinical services, said: "While this is only a snapshot of our clients, the report is the only such statistical material that emanates from those helping people with gambling problems every day of the week. The report speaks for itself."

Tories urged Miss Jowell to try to protect the public rather than encourage the gambling industry.

Anne Milton, Shadow Minister for Gambling, said: "Tessa Jowell said that if her legislation led to more problem gambling it will have been a failure and so it is clear that these worrying figures show the importance of continued caution over the new gambling laws."

She added: "Rather than looking at new ways to promote gambling, the Government's first responsibility must be minimising harm and reducing the risks of increased gambling addiction."