Gambling reform campaigner Annie Ashton has filed a legal claim with the High Court to challenge the Gambling Commission’s decision not to take regulatory action against Betfair, despite serious failings identified at the inquest into her husband’s death.
Posted on 17 February 2025
Annie argues that the Commission’s refusal to act represents an unacceptable failure to fulfil its regulatory duties and raises serious concerns about its ability to protect people from gambling-related harm. She is seeking the permission of the High Court to challenge the Commission’s decision by judicial review.
An inquest into Luke Ashton’s death concluded in 2023 that he died as a result of a gambling disorder and that Betfair failed meaningfully to intervene in his gambling when it should have done so. The inquest heard that, in the weeks leading up to his death, Luke had spent nearly entire days gambling with Betfair.
A gambling expert testified that Betfair should have identified Luke as being at risk of harm and taken steps to intervene, such as calling him, restricting his gambling, or closing his account.
Following the inquest, the coroner issued a Prevention of Future Deaths (PFD) report, raising concerns that unless action was taken to address the failings in Luke’s case, further deaths could occur. The coroner’s concerns included the inadequacy of Betfair’s player protection tools, the lack of meaningful interactions or interventions and the failure of Betfair’s algorithm to identify Luke as a ‘problem gambler’ despite the evidence that he was at risk of harm.
After the inquest, the Commission reviewed the coroner’s findings and the evidence from the inquest. In March 2024, it decided not to take regulatory action, including on the basis that the concerns arising from Luke’s case had already been addressed when the Commission placed Betfair in special measures between January and June 2021. However, the Commission later admitted that it had reached this decision without considering the coroner’s findings and therefore agreed to withdraw the decision and consider again whether regulatory action was needed.
In November 2024, the Commission again decided not to take regulatory action against Betfair. The reasons given by the Commission included that it was not clear whether changes made during the special measures process in 2021 had been implemented before or after the time of Luke’s gambling and that it was likely to be difficult to investigate these issues now, given the passage of time.
Annie, who is determined to ensure that there is accountability for Betfair’s failings in Luke’s case and that lessons are learned, believes that the Commission’s decision is wholly inadequate and is seeking to challenge the decision. She is arguing that the Commission has failed to carry out a sufficient inquiry, has relied on flawed reasoning and is failing to meet its obligations under the Gambling Act 2005, which include furthering the objective of protecting vulnerable people from harm.
Annie is represented by partner Merry Varney and solicitor Dan Webster, with Helena Hart-Watson, in Leigh Day’s Human Rights department, as well as barrister Jesse Nicholls of Matrix Chambers.
Annie Ashton said:
“The Gambling Commission’s refusal to take action against Betfair after the serious failings exposed at Luke’s inquest is a dereliction of duty. The coroner’s findings were stark – Betfair failed to identify Luke as being at risk, failed to intervene and missed opportunities to save his life. Meanwhile, Betfair retains the profits from Luke’s gambling and no lessons are learned to prevent deaths.
“The Commission can’t regulate behind closed doors without being publicly accountable for its decisions and its failures to hold the industry to account. The role of operators in gambling-related deaths must always be properly investigated.”
Dan Webster said:
“Having taken over 18 months after the conclusion of the inquest to consider the evidence and make a final decision, the Commission’s decision not to take regulatory action and the reasons given are entirely inadequate and deeply painful for Luke’s family. The failure to deliver any regulatory accountability or sanction for Betfair’s failings in Luke’s case is not only extremely disappointing for our client but raises serious concerns about the Commission’s ability to regulate the gambling industry effectively and to protect people from harm.
“Despite acknowledging that Betfair’s actions in Luke’s case give rise to regulatory concern, the Commission has declined even to open an investigation to establish whether those concerns amounted to regulatory breaches. While there is no public accountability or sanction for an operator’s failings which lead to a death, there is unlikely to be any meaningful change in the industry’s practices and more deaths will inevitably follow.”
