Betfair could have done more to help a gambling addict who took his own life, an inquest heard.
Luke Ashton, 40, from Leicester, hanged himself in April 2021 after building up £18,000 in debts and making up to 100 bets a day on betting websites.
Leicester Town Hall heard he lost £5,000 in one month just before he died and one of the main websites he used to gamble on since 2012 was Betfair’s.
Coroner Ivan Cartwright concluded at Leicester Coroner’s Court on 29 June that his gambling addiction contributed to his death and said he was concerned Betfair did not meaningfully intervene after his gambling activity surged in the weeks before he died.
He said: “He was assessed as being a low-risk gambler although his activity was more intensive in the 10 weeks prior to his death.
“The operator did not intervene or interact with Mr Ashton in any meaningful way.” Mr Cartwright added that if they had, it “may have changed the outcome”.
Mr Ashton had been gambling early in the morning and late at night when his wife Annie was in bed.
He had not shared details of his betting activities or the way he was feeling before he died and was not diagnosed with any mental health conditions.
His wife told the inquest Mr Ashton was a “happy” man who had no diagnosed mental health issues.
Afterwards, she urged gambling companies to change their policies in light of his death.
She said: “My hope is that all gambling companies will take note of today’s strong conclusion and will urgently adjust their practices to provide proper interactions or intervention so a larger number of people to prevent further harms and deaths caused by gambling.”
Ian Brown, chief executive of Flutter UKI, which owns Betfair’s parent company, said: “We wish to reiterate our sincere condolences to Mrs Ashton and her family. We are truly sorry for their loss.
“Flutter UKI is committed to doing the right thing and creating an environment for customers to enjoy our products in a safe and sustainable way.
“Over the past three years we have made significant changes to our controls, including mandatory deposit limits for customers who return to our sites after a period of self-exclusion.
“We hold ourselves to the absolute highest standards in the industry and we will, of course, incorporate additional learnings from this tragic case into our systems and processes.”
If you need support over mental health and gambling problems, you can call Samaritans on 116 123 or email josamaritans.org.