A second inquest is to be held into the death of a Leicester man who took his own life after developing a gambling addiction. Luke Ashton died during the pandemic, at the age of 40, which his widow has previously attributed to him receiving free betting incentives from gambling firm Betfair.
The first inquest into the father-of-two’s death was held in August of 2021, but was later adjourned while further investigations took place. Now a coroner is to consider whether Mr Ashton had a gambling disorder that caused or played a part in his death, and whether acts or omissions by Betfair contributed to the tragedy.
Luke’s widow, Annie Ashton, petitioned to make free betting incentives illegal after her husband’s death, gaining more than 31,000 signatures to bring in “Luke’s Law”, calling for an end to free betting incentives. A spokesperson for Betfair told LeicestershireLive today that a review of the firm’s interactions with Mr Ashton had found they were “fully compliant” with the regulatory framework in place at the time.
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The hearing is set to be held between Wednesday, June 14, and Friday, June 16, at Leicester Crown Court. The coroner has made Betfair’s parent company, Flutter UK & Ireland, an interested party in the inquest, with evidence reportedly set to be given by the company’s managing director.
Mr Ashton’s body was found in a flat more than 100 miles away from his family home, in South Yorkshire, where he travelled to take his own life on April 22, 2021. He had suffered longstanding problems with gambling before his death, which began again during the pandemic after he was furloughed from his job as a printer, Mrs Ashton said previously. She had claimed that ‘free bet’ incentives encouraged harmful addiction, and could lead to severe consequences.
In the petition she raised at the time, she stated: “My loving husband developed a gambling addiction after placing a ‘free bet’. This consequently led to him to apply for loans that he could not pay back. He tragically took his own life four months later.”
The betting company spokesperson told LeicestershireLive that Mr Ashton was a part of the Betfair rewards scheme, My Betfair Rewards Hub, which means those who opt in receive a £5 free bet each month if they make a qualifying number of bets within the previous month.
The firm also addressed previously-raised concerns at the pre-inquest review, held in November last year, that Mr Ashton had been “bombarded” with emails from Betfair. They said that the dad had opted out of marketing when he became active again in 2017, after a period of self-exclusion, and “therefore received no promotional emails from Betfair after this date”.
The spokesperson added: “We would like to reiterate our sincere condolences to Mr Ashton’s family for their loss. We will continue to work closely and constructively with the coroner as part of this important inquest.”
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