The bosses of the UK’s gambling giants have added up to £4.9billion to their personal wealth after the pandemic sparked a boom in online betting.

Millions of punters around the world have logged on to British online casinos to bet while stuck at home in lockdowns.

The trend has turbocharged UK gambling stocks, sending them to record highs, and enriched their owners and executives.

Their expertise in online gaming technology has also made them hot property in the United States, where recent liberalisation of online sports gambling has unleashed a gold rush to grab market share.

Listed betting stocks Flutter, the owner of Paddy Power and Betfair, and Ladbrokes-owner Entain have risen by around 70 per cent since the start of 2020.