A review of gambling laws may be postponed until next year, officials have admitted.

The long-awaited inquiry, promised in last year's Conservative Party election manifesto, was set to begin this month.

But the top civil servant at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport now says it is ‘not imminent'.

Yesterday furious MPs said delay was a ‘matter of life and death' for families of gambling victims.

The UK betting industry has seen revenues surge to £14.5billion a year thanks to lax regulation and the growth of gambling on smartphones.

The Government is under pressure to curb advertising, prevent punters spending thousands online and protect the 55,000 children suffering from addiction.

Richard Holden, a Tory member of the Commons public accounts committee, which has investigated gambling, said: ‘The fact that the most senior civil servant in the culture department now seems to be backing away from getting the gambling review kicked off is very worrying.'

The MP added: ‘A proper review of the 2005 Gambling Act has cross-party support and was a manifesto commitment of the Conservative Party.'

Labour's Carolyn Harris, who chairs the all-party parliamentary group on gambling, said: ‘It is incredibly worrying that the review is stumbling before it has reached the first hurdle.

‘We had been led to believe that Boris Johnson will personally spearhead the reform of Britain's broken gambling laws.

‘The virus is not an excuse - getting this review under way now will be a matter of life and death for hundreds of families.'

The culture department's permanent secretary, Sarah Healey, had told the committee on Monday: ‘I'm not able to give a firm timeline, we will seek to publish it as soon as possible.

I would not expect to see it imminently.

‘The department has been extremely busy in recent months dealing with the consequences of Covid, but we are aware there is significant interest in making progress, and ministers remain keen to do so.'

It is thought ministers are seeking a wide-ranging review that could roll back large sections of the Gambling Act, which was introduced by Labour under Tony Blair.

Any change in legislation would take around two years once the review is launched.

Around 340,000 UK adults are addicted to betting, and each problem gambler harms six loved ones through crime, domestic violence, family breakup and lost jobs, according to a report from the House of Lords.

An average of two gambling addicts take their own life every working day with many more left bankrupt, peers found.

The Government is expected to raise the minimum age for the National Lottery, with a specific focus on scratchcards.