Luke Ashton: Algorithm missed gambling addict’s red flags – inquest

A gambling company’s algorithms failed to detect any “red flags” in the behavior of a man who committed suicide after suffering huge gambling debts, an autopsy report found.

Leicester Betfair customer Luke Ashton, 40, had lost thousands of pounds in the months before he died on April 22, 2021.

At a hearing at Leicester City Hall, Mr Ashton was told he gambled more than 100 times a day, including early in the morning and late at night while his wife was asleep.

Professor David Forrest, an economist and gambling industry expert, was asked by coroner Ivan Cartwright to examine Mr Ashton’s gambling behavior and Betfair’s conduct.

Professor Forrest presented evidence and said he believed Betfair had failed to identify that Mr Ashton was at risk of harm.

He said “red flags” of Ashton’s gambling behavior included an increase in the number and frequency of bets and the amount of deposits and losses missed by Betfair’s algorithm to detect problem gamblers. explained.

Despite Betfair deeming it “low risk”, Richard Clarke, managing director of parent company Flutter UKI, said at a hearing on Thursday that it was clear the company could have done more at the time.

If the model had warned Ashton of the danger, more action could have been taken, including a phone assessment to discuss his behavior and betting patterns and a forced account ban.

Instead, Ashton was sent an automated “recognition” email.

Professor Forrest said Betfair should have taken “stronger action on the basis of the evolution of gaming”.

At the hearing, he said he was “extremely surprised” that the activity was not detected by Betfair’s algorithms.

He said there was an apparent “escalation” in Mr Ashton’s gambling behavior in February and March 2021, with evidence that he was making sizeable bets and trying to chase losses.

At the end of March, Betfair sent Ashton another automated email asking if he would like a time-out, even though he had made over 100 bets on one day.

Professor Forrest said, “Since he may be experiencing harm or forced exclusion, there might have been an option to discuss self-exclusion over the phone to get some background on what was going on. ‘ said.

He said Betfair didn’t take enough “serious interest” in its customers’ backgrounds and behaviors, and that its standards for identifying harm were too high.

Betfair said it was confident it was adhering to the rules and regulatory framework in place at the time, but to prevent customers in Ashton’s situation from repeating the same betting patterns. said that the accepted changes were made.

The coroner learned that Ashton had been reported missing by his wife the day before he died.

His cell phone led to the apartment he was renting in South Yorkshire, where police found his body.

An autopsy said he died by hanging.

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