The widow of a man who became addicted to gambling and took his own life has said more people will die because regulators refuse to investigate addiction-related suicides.
Annie Ashton is planning legal action against the Gambling Commission after it announced it would not investigate or impose penalties over the death of her husband Luke.
Mr Ashton, 43, said the coroner’s verdict, which singled out Betfair and criticized its protections, should have prompted an investigation and sanctions by the regulator. She said she was stunned to receive a letter from the Gambling Commission earlier this month saying no further action would be taken in his case.
“Many more people will die because they don’t really see the people they’re destroying,” she told the Guardian.
“I think they’re just not fit for purpose. They shouldn’t be a regulatory body. They’re too tied to the industry. It’s not going to take somebody going through anything for that to be investigated.” It’s really scary to think about it.”
The Ashton case went down in history as the first case in which a gambling operator was formally involved in an inquest, after the coroner named Betfair’s parent company Flutter as an “interested party” in the case.
The coroner criticized Luke’s failure to intervene to address his chronic gambling problems leading up to his suicide. In a landmark verdict following an inquest in June, Leicester coroner Ivan Cartwright ruled that a “gambling disorder” contributed to his death.
Mr Cartwright said Betfair had not “interacted or intervened in any meaningful way with Luke” in the two years leading up to his death, adding: “Further efforts to intervene or engage with Luke have been made.” It should have been done.”
Cartwright issued a future death prevention notice in July requiring Flutter to take action, but the company has not been sanctioned by regulators in connection with Ashton’s case.
Following the inquest, Mr Ashton wrote a legal letter to the Gambling Commission asking whether it would investigate and punish the company based on the coroner’s verdict. The commission responded that it was not its role to investigate individual complaints.
Investigation is the first step before sanctions. Mr Ashton said if the Gambling Commission had acted as a regulator, Betfair “should have had its license revoked during the investigation” following the inquest and “there would have been significant consequences” for the company. said.
“How bad does the situation really have to get before the Gambling Commission switches over and investigates? It seems like there’s no chance they’ll ever do that,” she said.
Luke was furloughed from his job at a printing company when his gambling addiction worsened and he began secretly placing more than 100 bets a day on his mobile phone.
The coroner said he was “perplexed” that the betting company’s algorithms, designed to protect vulnerable users, did not take into account Luke’s “intensive” gambling and raise a flag.
Mr Ashton said: “It’s quite shocking that they considered him a low-risk gambler.”
Luke had opted out of marketing from Betfair since 2017. Despite this, he still received £5 of free bets each month from Betfair, available to all users.
Betfair gave evidence at the inquest that only 2.1% of its customers had human contact in 2021, but economist Professor David Forrest’s evidence showed that 18% of gamblers were at risk. He said it was found that this was the case.
The inquest revealed that Betfair had put special measures in place at the time Luke died gambling, but this was not disclosed by the Gambling Commission at the time or during the inquest. .
Mr Ashton said: ‘We don’t know how many times Betfair have been put into special measures or how many times they have failed to meet regulatory requirements, but that really does matter, so should they get a licence? ” he said.
Ashton is currently doing charity work. A life-threatening gambleA group representing families of gambling-related suicides said regulators may be failing to protect vulnerable customers.
“I feel that the Gambling Commission exists to support and protect gambling operators more than consumers, but that really leads to the question of whether this regulator is fit for purpose. ”Deaths are occurring under their watch. ”
Dan Webster, a lawyer at Leigh Day who is working on a legal challenge to the commission’s refusal to take regulatory action in the Ashton case, said: “The Gambling Commission is said to be aware of the importance of investigating gambling-related suicides because it requires operators to report to the commission.”Customer dies by suicide When I found out. But this incident does not suggest that the commission is actually committed to learning lessons from these most shocking incidents. ”
He further added: “As it stands, there is no meaningful outcome for Betfair other than embarrassment and righteous condemnation… All of this is more likely than not for the Gambling Commission to regulate in a way that appeases the industry rather than in a way that actually protects it.” It gives the impression that they are concerned about the customer’s safety. ”
Flutter has since changed its management and said customers with similar betting history and playing patterns will no longer lose the same amount of money.
A Gambling Commission spokesperson offered Luke’s “deepest condolences” to his family and friends, adding: “When we learned of Luke’s death in July 2021, his gambling activities were taken into account by his management. It has become clear that this was carried out during the period in which the incident occurred.” Issues of social responsibility and anti-money laundering.
“As a result of the special measures process, the operator sold £635,123 to charity; National Strategy to Reduce Gambling Harm. Given the actions already taken by the Company and the new regulatory requirements now in force, it was considered that no further action could be taken against the Licensee in this matter. ”
The regulator said it will continue to take enforcement action and challenge the industry in line with its legal obligations.
A spokesperson for Flutter said: “We would like to once again send our deepest condolences to Mrs Ashton and her family on this tragic incident. Flutter UKI maintains the highest standards in the industry and since the beginning of 2021 we have We have made many changes to the protection of
They said they could not comment further due to ongoing legal proceedings.
