‘Unwilling’ coroners failed us, say families of gambling addicts who took their own lives
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Relatives of those who committed suicide claim betting industry is not being held to account, report reveals. Families of gambling addicts who took their own lives have told of being let down by the coroner service, which they say failed to properly investigate the role of betting firms, a new report has revealed.
![[Chris Bruney, who took his life in 2017, was targeted by betting firms to keep him gambling]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/3ebe2d1ecbc22e59077d1c00c043609bf6200ffc/0_490_3264_1958/master/3264.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Campaign groups believe that gambling is a factor in hundreds of suicides each year, but in only one inquest has a gambling company been named as an “interested person”. The families warned that the failure of the coroner service in England and Wales to highlight the role of gambling in many suicides over the years meant lessons were not being learned to prevent further deaths. They are calling for an overhaul of the system.
![[Luke Ashton, who took his life aged 40 in 2021 after struggling with a gambling addiction, with his wife Annie]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/27fc115cf976b962e039a27c71ef9b97ba1758ce/0_0_563_338/master/563.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
The new report, to be published on Monday , interviewed 14 people from nine families with experience of the coroner’s service following a gambling-related suicide. Many reported feeling excluded from the process, and an “unwillingness” in many cases for the role of gambling firms to be included in the scope of the inquest.
The report by Birkbeck, University of London and the University of Bath states: “Many felt that gambling companies, the broader gambling industry and indeed the government were not being held to account.”. Liz Ritchie, who co-founded the Gambling with Lives charity with her husband, Charles, after their son Jack took his life in 2017, said: “This is a group of families who are calling for justice. People are dying and it is not being properly established why.” She said that although many coroners try to be helpful, the coronial system can retraumatise bereaved families.
