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In one clip posted online, police and security personnel could be seen walking hurriedly through the gaming area of the hotel while guests could still be seen sitting at the slot machines, seemingly unaware of what was unfolding around them. 

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Matt Zarb-Cousin, of campaign group Clean Up Gambling, said: ‘In a sector that still derives the majority of its profits from people losing more than they can afford, the isolation of lockdown has further exposed the lack of protections online, particularly around addictive slots and casino games where stakes are still unlimited.

A separate study, published yesterday by the Gambling Commission, reported that the number of regular gamblers had fallen in the pandemic - due to the closure of bookmakers and cancellation of live sport.

Carolyn Harris, the Labour MP who chairs the all-party parliamentary group for rizk gambling, said: ‘These massive losses show that gambling companies are cashing in on coronavirus and the extraordinary hardship some families are facing in lockdown.'

The Betting and Gaming Council said: ‘At the start of the pandemic, the BGC took action which has led to the number of safer gambling messages on websites more than doubling and the number of direct interventions increased by 25 per cent on customers who were spending more time or money betting than they did before Covid.