The widow of a man who tragically took his own life due to a gambling addiction is planning to take legal action against the UK’s gambling regulator, the Gambling Commission. Annie Ashton, 43, has criticized the Commission for its failure to hold Betfair accountable for its role in her husband Luke’s death, despite the operator being named in the coroner’s verdict.
Luke had been on furlough from his job when he started placing over 100 bets per day on Betfair, but the operator’s automated systems failed to flag him as a potential problem gambler. The coroner, Ivan Cartwright, determined that Betfair did not intervene with Luke in a meaningful way before his tragic death, citing a “gambling disorder” as a contributing factor.
After Luke’s death, it was revealed that Betfair had been under special measures at the time, yet this information was not disclosed during the inquest. Betfair was issued a “prevention of future deaths” notice by the coroner, but when Ashton inquired about the Commission opening an investigation or imposing sanctions on Betfair, the regulator claimed it was not their responsibility to look into individual cases.
In response to the criticism, the Gambling Commission stated that they were aware of Luke’s gambling activities during the special measures period, during which Betfair donated over £600,000 to charities supporting efforts to reduce gambling harms. The Commission deemed that no further action was necessary against the operator given the actions taken and new regulatory requirements in place.
Ashton, now working with the charity Gambling With Lives, believes that the Gambling Commission prioritizes protecting gambling operators over consumers, raising concerns about the regulator’s effectiveness in preventing gambling-related deaths. She plans to pursue legal action against the Commission to hold them accountable for their failure to address the harm caused by the gambling industry.