'This isn't about Paddy Power. It's about the harm 24/7 gambling does to society' 

The group wants immediate action such as more restrictive controls to be put in place for customers under the age of 25, mandatory deposit limits for everyone with a ban on VIP schemes and free bets, and rigorous controls on advertising around sport and the broadcast of sport.

A number of ex-Paddy Power directors have formed a group aimed at urging investors and legislators to bring their “weight to bear on the [betting] industry to curb those parts of its activities that can do serious and sustained harm to society”.

Stop Gambling Harm was founded by former Paddy Power CEO and founder Stewart Kenny, the former director of Mercury Asset Management and Paddy Power’s first institutional investor Ian Armitage, and former chairman of the bookmaker Fintan Drury.