CHILD-targeted gambling represents ‘predatory behaviour at its most extreme’, councillors have been warned.

Cllr Zoe Kirk Robinson told town hall colleagues that action must be taken to crack down on the number of child-themed online casinos and ‘loot boxes’ inside video games like Call of Duty.

She said: “There is really no end to the underhand tactics these companies are willing to employ in order to take as much money from vulnerable people as possible.

Her motion calling on the Gambling Commission to change its stance on ‘gambling by proxy’ was supported unanimously in the council chamber.

Cllr Bob Allen added: “When the bookies drag children into their claws, it surely is time to act.”

Labour’s Cllr Guy Harkin said that the last Labour government made a ‘fundamental’ error in loosening alcohol and gambling restrictions.

He said that it was the Labour administration’s biggest mistake in terms of ‘contributing to human misery’.