Widow of gambling addict criticizes watchdog’s inability to investigate suicides

The widow of a man who committed suicide after becoming addicted to gambling says more people will die because the regulator refuses to investigate suicides linked to the addiction.

Annie Ashton is planning legal action against the Gambling Commission after it said it would not investigate or sanction Betfair over the death of her husband Luke – despite concerns raised about the company during his inquest.

Ashton, 43, said a coroner’s verdict naming Betfair and criticizing its protections should have prompted a regulator investigation and sanctions. She said she was shocked when she received a letter from the Gaming Commission earlier this month saying it would take no further action in his case.

“More people will die because they don’t really look at the people it’s destroying,” she told the Guardian.

‘I just don’t think they are fit for purpose. They should not be the supervisory body. They are too connected to the industry. I absolutely dread to think what someone would have to go through before it is investigated.

Ashton’s case made history as the first in which a gambling operator was formally involved in an inquest after the coroner named Flutter, the parent company of Betfair, as an ‘person of interest’ in the proceedings.

The coroner criticized the failure to intervene to tackle the chronic gambling problem in the lead-up to Luke’s suicide. In a landmark verdict after the inquest in June, Leicester coroner Ivan Cartwright ruled that “gambling disorder” had contributed to his death.

Cartwright said Betfair “did not engage or intervene in any meaningful way with Luke” in the two years leading up to his death and that “more efforts should have been made to intervene or intervene”.

Cartwright issued a warning in July to prevent future deaths, requiring action from Flutter, but the company has not faced any regulatory sanctions related to Ashton’s case.

After the inquest, Ashton sent a legal letter to the Gambling Commission asking whether they would investigate and sanction the company given the coroner’s verdict. The committee responded that it was not its role to investigate individual complaints.

An investigation is a first step before any sanction. Ashton said that if the Gambling Commission were acting as a regulator, Betfair should have “had their license revoked while they were investigated” after the inquest and that “there should have been serious consequences” for the company.

“How much worse does it actually have to get before the Gaming Commission makes that switch and conducts an investigation? It doesn’t look like this will ever happen,” she said.

Luke was on leave from his job at a printing company when the grip of his gambling addiction worsened and he began secretly placing more than 100 bets a day on his phone.

The coroner said he was “perplexed” that the betting company’s algorithm, designed to protect vulnerable users, did not flag Luke given his “intensive” betting.

Ashton said: “It’s just quite shocking that they considered him a low-risk gambler.”

Luke had opted out of Betfair marketing after 2017. Despite this, he still received a monthly £5 free bet available to all Betfair users.

Betfair provided evidence at the inquest that only 2.1% of its customers experienced human interaction in 2021, but evidence from economist Prof David Forrest showed that 18% of gamblers were at risk.

After the inquest it emerged that Betfair had taken special measures when Luke was gambling and died, but this was not disclosed by the Gaming Commission at the time – nor during the inquest itself.

Ashton said: “We don’t know how many times Betfair has taken special measures, how many times they have failed to meet the legal requirements and we should know because really that becomes a question of: should they be licensed?”

Ashton, who is now campaigning for charity Gambling with liveswho represents survivors after gambling-related suicides, said she believed the regulator was failing to protect vulnerable customers.

“You get the feeling that the Gambling Commission is there to support and protect the gambling operators, in my opinion more so than the consumers, which then really leads to the question of whether this regulator is fit for purpose when you There are deaths that take place under their supervision.’

Dan Webster, a lawyer at Leigh Day who is handling a legal challenge to the commission’s refusal to take regulatory action in Ashton’s case, said: “Apparently the Gaming Commission recognizes the importance of investigating gambling-related suicides because they operators are required to notify the commission when they become aware of a customer dying by suicide. But this case does not suggest that the committee actually wants to learn lessons from the most shocking cases.”

He added: “As things stand, there is no meaningful consequence for Betfair other than embarrassment and deserved condemnation… It all gives the impression that the Gambling Commission is more concerned about regulating in a way that satisfies the industry then in a way that actually protects customers from harm.”

Flutter said it had since changed its controls and that a customer with a similar gambling history and playing pattern would not be able to lose the same amount.

A spokesperson for the Gambling Commission extended “sincere condolences” to Luke’s family and friends, saying: “When we became aware of Luke’s death in July 2021, it became clear that his gambling took place at a time when the operator was in special measures due to social responsibility and anti-money laundering issues.

“As a result of the special measures process, the operator has divested £635,123 to charities supporting the national strategy to reduce gambling harm. Taking into account the actions we have already taken and the fact that new legal requirements are now in place, it was judged that no further action would be taken against the licensee in relation to this matter.”

The regulator said it would continue to take enforcement action and challenge the sector in line with its statutory duties.

A spokesperson for Flutter said: “We reiterate our sincere condolences to Ms Ashton and her family on this tragic case. Flutter UKI adheres to the very highest standards in our industry and we have made a number of changes to our controls and player protection since the start of 2021.”

They said they could not comment further due to ongoing legal proceedings.