John Mason, SNP MSP for Shettleston, also accused the lottery of sucking cash from the pockets of people in disadvantaged areas.

In a debate in the Scottish Parliament Mr Mason argued there needs to be a review of gambling laws to put an end to the high number of betting shops in poorer high streets targeting those on low incomes.

Last Month the Evening Times reported Mr Mason's concerns about the number of betting shops in his constituency, where he counted almost 30.

Now MSPs of all parties have agreed there is a problem and that action on gambling addiction is needed.

Mr Mason said the previous relaxation of laws was a mistake and normalised betting, leading to problems.

He said: "The National Lottery has drawn more people into regular gambling.

"For some it has led to addiction problems.

"We are told how many good causes benefit, but it seems that the net effect is to extract money from poorer areas, where it appears that more tickets are bought.

"It also appears that more of the good causes tend to be in the richer areas."

Glasgow Labour MSP Hanzala Malik said that people in Asian communities were three times more likely to have a gambling problem than others, and people in poor health, unemployed or with money worries are also more likely to have a gambling problem.

A spokeswoman for the National Lottery said: "John Mason is incorrect in claiming that it is mainly the poor who play the lottery.

"Approximately 70% of the UK's adult population play The National Lottery and the demographics of players are almost an exact match with that of the UK population.

"Glasgow has received £531m in lottery funding since the National Lottery began and many grants have been awarded to good causes in Mr Mason's constituency.

"The Big Lottery Fund in particular has awarded grants worth £10.2 million in Shettleston through its various funding streams."

stewart.paterson@ eveningtimes.co.uk