A detailed study on the crystal structure and bulk magnetic properties of Cr substituted Ising type lanthanide gallium garnets $Ln_3text{CrGa}_4text{O}_{12}$ ($Ln$ = Tb, Dy, Ho) has been carried out using room temperature powder X-Ray and neutron diffraction, magnetic susceptibility, isothermal magnetisation and heat capacity measurements. The magnetocaloric effect (MCE) in $Ln_3text{CrGa}_4text{O}_{12}$ is compared to that of $Ln_3text{Ga}_5text{O}_{12}$. In lower magnetic fields attainable by a permanent magnet ($leq$ 2 T), Cr substitution greatly enhances the MCE by 20% for $Ln$ = Dy and 120% for $Ln$ = Ho compared to the unsubstituted $Ln_3text{Ga}_5text{O}_{12}$. This is likely due to changes in the magnetic ground state as Cr substitution also significantly reduces the frustration in the magnetic lattice for the Ising type $Ln_3text{Ga}_5text{O}_{12}$.
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