Hungary's government has proposed a ban on slot machines in pubs and cafes in an effort to clamp down on gambling, according to BBC News.

New laws put forward by the prime minister's office ban slot machines outside of regulated casinos.

The government believes Hungarians, particularly poor Hungarians, spend too much of their income on slot machines.

The move will cost 30bn forints ($135m) a year in tax revenues, the government said, but will be made back by taxing online gaming instead.

Speaking to reporters about the plans, the prime minister's chief of staff Janos Lazar also cited national security concerns behind the ban, but did not give further details.

He said the ban was set to be approved by parliament as early as Tuesday, Oct 2 and would be in force within a matter of weeks, meaning that no new machines will be allowed to begin operating, and existing machines will be removed.