Gambling played a significant part in man's death

A coroner has ruled that a gambling disorder played a significant part in the death of Gareth Evans, who took his own life in 2021.

According to the law firm representing Evans’ family at the inquest, before his death he was visiting William Hill betting shops five times a day and spending up to £800 a day on their betting terminals. The assistant coroner for Croydon coroner’s court, Adela Williams, said that a lack of intervention from William Hill also contributed to Evans’ death.

His family didn’t know about his gambling addiction until 2013 when Evans sought help from his parents for the debts he had accrued. At that point he agreed to go to Gamblers Anonymous and get counselling from the London Gambling Clinic. He also got treatment from the NHS, but his addiction returned during the COVID-19 pandemic, where his betting was mostly with William Hill.

William Hill offered Evans free bet promotions and only once sent an automated email to check that he was gambling responsibly. Evans blocked himself from online gambling with GamStop in 2020, but then started withdrawing large amounts of cash to gamble at the local William Hill betting shop. He made a complaint to William Hill in 2021 that his gambling was affecting his mental health, but the complaint was rejected.

In the 18 months before his death, Evans had lost thousands of pounds. He took his own life in November 2021, leaving a note to his family that said the shame of gambling had led him to suicide.

Gareth Evans’ parents criticised William Hill for not making changes to stop their son’s gambling. “They’re just interested in making money,” his mother said. “I think the poor consumers have very little chance. There has to be so many levels that they reach before any algorithms kick in to flag up harm. The whole thing just needs to be changed.”

Rosie and Tony Evans are calling for a complete ban on gambling advertising and for betting companies to monitor those who use their shops to bet heavily. Something could have been done, they argue: “If somebody had spoken to him when he was going on a daily basis, depositing large sums of money. But nobody cared. They just took every penny they could.”