One of Britain's biggest bookmakers has reduced spin times on fixed-odd betting terminals (FOBTs) to get round new rules.

Laws brought in at the start of this month mean punters can now place a maximum bet of £2 per spin as opposed to £100.

In theory that would have seen total losses per minute reduced from a potential £300 to just £6 but KentOnline's sister paper, the Medway Messenger, has learned Ladbrokes Coral has halved the bet-to-bet time on one of its roulette games to coincide with the new laws.

That means customers on SG Roulette, the chain's main game, can now gamble £2 every eight seconds (£15 in a minute).

The chain said the spin times on its other four roulette games have remained the same.

However on slot games the risks are higher, with punters able to bet every three seconds, meaning maximum losses now stand at £40 a minute.

Slot games have traditionally allowed for more spins per minute but been lower stake. It is unclear if the three-second bet-to-bet time has been decreased.

FOBTs have proved highly addictive, resulting in the breakdown of relationships, financial difficulties and even suicide.

That's led to them being dubbed the crack cocaine of gambling.

'I'm not against gambling, I'm against problem gambling. I have no sympathy for organisations that are making money out of problem gambling.' — Cllr Vince Maple

Chatham and Aylesford MP Tracey Crouch fought for the changes and resigned when chancellor Philip Hammond said the new laws would be delayed by six month.

She has been approached for comment.

Betfred previously came under fire for allowing punters to place bets over the counter of up to £500 every two minutes on a virtual roulette game.

Called Virtual Cycling it was launched on the same day the FOBT laws came in.

Medway Labour leader Cllr Vince Maple was also a keen campaigner for the rule changes.

He said: "It's disappointing to hear this and about similar moves from other chains.

"While admittedly the stakes over a minute are still lower they are still substantially more than what was anticipated.

"I'm grateful to the Medway Messenger for revealing this. It shows that there is still a long way to go ."

He added that gambling companies were trying to find "loop holes" and were not acting responsibly as had been hoped.

Ladbrokes Coral said the legal minimum spin time is 2.5 seconds.

The company has previously said the changes to FOBTs could see up to 1,000 stores shut over the next two years resulting in 5,000 job losses.

A spokesman added: "We will be doing our level best in the coming months to generate new business on other products - racing, football, sport etc - and on the increasingly popular self service sport betting terminals to mitigate some of the lost turnover and gross win, and keep as many of these at-risk shops viable."

Cllr Maple added: "I'm not against gambling, I'm against problem gambling. I have no sympathy for organisations that are making money out of problem gambling."

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