Betfair in Hot Water over Suicide of Compulsive Gambler

^{Photo: Luke Ashton, who took his own life}

Betfair, a British gambling company, has been dragged into the investigation of the suicide of a gambler named Luke Ashton, according to Gambling News.

Ashton, 40, killed himself in April 2021 after struggling with gambling addiction. The gambling firm failed to spot the red flags of its customer’s unhealthy behavior, who lost around £5,000 ($6,400) in just one month on betting.

Betfair admits that it should have done more to help the troubled user.

For some reason, Betfair’s safety systems missed the red flags that marked Ashton as a high-risk gambler, despite the clear evidence.

For example, before losing the hefty sum in a month, Ashton was making about a hundred bets a day. He also took out loans left and right to feed his addiction. Gambling Park points out that Ashton’s go-to platform for gambling was Betfair Exchange, which offers sports betting and its own betting exchange.

Things got worse in March 2021 when Ashton made over 1,220 bets.

On top of that, he forked over $3,200 in one day in March. But Betfair’s safety system didn’t blink an eye. Maybe that’s because March 2021 was the start of the horse racing season, when about 10,000 players bet even more than Ashton did.

The investigation is still ongoing, so it’s best to stay quiet for now. But it seems like the gambling company will face more than just a fine.