A coroner has said a betting company failed to detect that a man who later took his own life was a “problem gambler” and that it has inadequate methods of protecting customers at risk of addiction.
Luke Ashton, from Leicester, died in April 2021, having racked up debts of £18,000, with a gambling disorder later ruled to have contributed to the father-of-two’s death.
An inquest in June found that, despite his debts, the 40-year-old was not deemed by Betfair to be a problem gambler and the firm “did not intervene or interact with Luke in any meaningful way”, the coroner said.
Ivan Cartwright, the area coroner for Leicester City and South Leicestershire, has released a Prevention of Future Deaths report, in which he said that Betfair and its parent company, Flutter, “did not take any measures” to curb Mr Ashton’s gambling.
I remain concerned that the player protection tools ... were and are inadequate to protect a person such as Mr Ashton, who was a problem gambler with a worsening problem— Leicester City and South Leicestershire Coroner Ivan Cartwright
He said: “I remain concerned that the player protection tools, as mentioned above, were and are inadequate to protect a person such as Mr Ashton, who was a problem gambler with a worsening problem; specifically that such tools do not amount to any or any meaningful interaction with the gambler, or any intervention into the practices of the gambler.
“I remain concerned that the algorithm devised and operated by Betfair to assist its staff in, amongst other things, observing and monitoring the gambling patterns and practices of its customers failed to flag up Mr Ashton as a problem gambler.
“(This is) despite the increases in his time online (gambling), the value of his deposits and the size of his losses, in part because his gambling practices, even in the last 10-12 weeks of his life, were deemed not to be exceptional when averaged among gambling customers generally.
“I remain concerned that, as was apparent through the evidence of a senior employee witness during the course of the inquest, the operator Betfair appears to judge the extent of its responsibilities to gambling customers solely with regard to industry (regulatory) standards, rather than current good or best practice in order to prevent further harming problem gamblers, or those who, as a result of their changing practices and patterns are likely to become problem gamblers.”
Mr Ashton’s inquest at Leicester Town Hall was believed to be the first in the UK in which a gambling company had been listed as an Interested Person in the proceedings.
I believe that all gambling operators should have their safer gambling tools and algorithms assessed by an independent third party— Luke Ashton's widow, Annie Ashton
It heard that he had become “consumed” by gambling” in the last weeks of his life, with his activity on the Betfair exchange spiking.
He had been gambling more than 100 times a day, with his addiction described as “pervasive” by a medical expert.
This included while his wife Annie was asleep, but Mr Ashton made no disclosures about the toll it was taking on his mental health before taking his own life in South Yorkshire on April 22 2021.
Professor David Forrest, an expert in interpreting gambling records, told the hearing that Betfair failed to take adequate steps to intervene in Mr Ashton’s gambling when it should have done so in response to a large number of indicators that he was at high risk of harm.
He said Mr Ashton’s gambling showed significant signs of potential harm in 2019 and 2020, but that risk indicators – the amounts of time and money he was spending and the intensity of his betting – increased dramatically in early 2021.
Following the inquest conclusion, Mrs Ashton said her husband was a “devoted and happy” father and that gambling was “destructive” and “causes suicide”.
In a statement released by Leigh Day solicitors after the release of the report, she said: “I believe that all gambling operators should have their safer gambling tools and algorithms assessed by an independent third party in the same way that Professor Forrest was able to do during the inquest.
Betfair gave evidence at the inquest that only 2.1% of its customers received a human interaction in 2021 while around 18% of gamblers have been found to be at risk, and this is clearly unacceptable as it led to inadequate interventions. For Luke this was imperative— Luke Ashton's widow, Annie Ashton
“This would help to advise and implement ‘best practice’ when spotting those who are showing signs of harm and protecting them from further harm in the future.
“Additionally, there is an urgent need for the Gambling Commission to step up and effectively oversee the markers used to detect harm caused by operators and routinely check that operators are setting the appropriate thresholds developed specifically to show those considered to be at risk in the real world.
“Betfair gave evidence at the inquest that only 2.1% of its customers received a human interaction in 2021 while around 18% of gamblers have been found to be at risk, and this is clearly unacceptable as it led to inadequate interventions. For Luke this was imperative.
“Failure to intervene should result in licences being removed by the Gambling Commission.”
Mr Cartwright’s report has been sent to Flutter, the Gambling Commission, and Culture, Media and Sport Secretary Lucy Frazer, who have 56 days to respond to the concerns raised.
They will be required to set out the action taken or proposed to be taken in response, including a timetable for action, or to explain why no action will be taken.
We have made significant changes to our controls since 2021 and will, of course, incorporate additional learnings from this tragic case into our systems and processes— Flutter UKI
A Flutter UKI spokesperson said a customer in Mr Ashton’s circumstances would be unable to repeat the same betting patterns due to improvements made since early 2021.
They include a monthly net deposit limit based on a telephone assessment with customers, who cannot change the limit, and financial vulnerability checks.
The firm said that after a review of its interactions with Mr Ashton, it was confident it was compliant with regulatory frameworks in place at the time.
The spokesperson said: “We note the publication of the coroner’s report and we will respond formally.
“Flutter UKI is committed to creating an environment for customers to enjoy our products in a safe and sustainable way and we hold ourselves to the highest standards in the industry.
“We have made significant changes to our controls since 2021 and will, of course, incorporate additional learnings from this tragic case into our systems and processes.
“We wish to reiterate our sincere condolences to Mrs Ashton and her family. We are truly sorry for their loss.”
A spokesperson for the Gambling Commission said gambling operators had paid more than £90 million over regulatory failures since April 2021 and have more effective policies in place to spot gambling harms.
It also said a review will be undertaken into incentives such as free bets to ensure they do not encourage excessive or harmful gambling.
The spokesperson said: “Our condolences go to the family and friends of Luke Ashton at this difficult time.
“We are currently considering the coroner’s report and intend to respond to it.
“Any death linked to gambling is one too many and each and every story of gambling harm strengthens our commitment to making Britain’s gambling market safer.
“As the gambling regulator we will continue to monitor compliance, take enforcement action, clamp down on irresponsible products, update our policies and guidance in line with best practice and challenge the industry to make sure operators are interacting with customers and identifying early signs of harm.
“We are currently in the process of implementing the Government’s recommendations in the recent white paper.
“As part of this we will be consulting on safety measures to ensure bonus offers and incentives do not lead to excessive or harmful gambling, set further product controls for safer online games and require operators to identify and take action for financially vulnerable consumers, and to tackle significant unaffordable gambling through frictionless checks that are not disruptive for consumers.”
– Anyone who needs support can call Samaritans free of charge on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website.
