A coroner has ruled that gambling addiction played \u201ca major part\u201d in a man\u2019s death in Croydon.<\/p>\n
Gareth Evans, 40, took his own life in 2021 after withdrawing tens of thousands of pounds for in store betting.<\/p>\n
His family say his death \u201cwas directly caused by the gambling industry\u201d.<\/p>\n
The parent company of William Hill, where Gareth gambled, insists \u201cit is fully committed to providing a safe and sustainable environment for all customers\u201d.<\/p>\n
Gareth was described by his family as a happy, popular person who loved football, pub quizzes and travel.<\/p>\n
But for 10 years he struggled with gambling and, in a note to his family, he said it had caused him to suffer \u201cevery day\u201d.<\/p>\n
Gareth began online gambling on sports but had to seek help to clear debt from his parents.<\/p>\n
He eventually barred himself from online gambling after the issue re-surfaced during lockdown.<\/p>\n
However, in the six months before his death he withdrew \u00a335,000 to bet in store.<\/p>\n
Gareth Evans left a note to his family indicating that he had taken his own life due to gambling. Credit: Family Handout <\/p>\n
In a note for his family, he wrote: <\/p>\n
\u201cI suffer every day. I started gambling and lost everything and more. <\/p>\n
“I can’t help but return to this disgusting habit. I\u2019m ashamed and I\u2019m embarrassed. <\/p>\n
“I\u2019ve done nothing but gamble for six months. I lie to you daily and hate myself for it.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Thursday, the coroner at Croydon Coroners Court listed \u2018gambling disorder\u2019 and \u2018depression\u2019 as underlying causes for Gareth\u2019s death.<\/p>\n
The coroner also criticised William Hill, where Gareth gambled, and the wider industry. <\/p>\n
She said: \u201cThe controls and support are in my view inadequate and measures need to be improved\u2026measures are fragmented and not standardised.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gareth’s mother, father and sister all attended the inquest. Credit: Family handout<\/p>\n
Outside court Tony Evans, Gareth\u2019s dad, spoke about their loss.<\/p>\n
Tony said: <\/p>\n
\u201cFour and a half years since Gareth took his own life the coroner\u2019s investigation has confirmed what we as a family always knew. <\/p>\n
“Namely that his death was directly caused by the gambling industry and their dangerously addictive products.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd William Hill failed in their duties to protect him. We are also pleased to see that the coroner intends to issue a prevention of future deaths report. <\/p>\n
“Gambling had a catastrophic effect on Gareth’s mental health. <\/p>\n
“He was a normal, happy and healthy person. He had a good job and lots of friends. He loved football, pub quizzes and travel.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlthough nothing can change what happened to our wonderful Gaz we hope this inquest can help us understand that gambling kills.\u201d<\/p>\n
William Hill gave evidence at the inquest about how they had made sweeping changes to improve safety features and spot high-risk gamblers.<\/p>\n
In a statement William Hill\u2019s parent company said: <\/p>\n
“We would like to extend our sincere condolences to Mr Evans\u2019 family in this tragic case. <\/p>\n
Safer gambling is at the core of Evoke\u2019s business, and we are fully committed to providing a safe and sustainable environment for all customers.<\/p>\n
Since taking ownership of William Hill in July 2022, we have continuously evolved and improved our safer gambling processes and systems to ensure we adhere to changing industry-wide regulations.” <\/p>\n
Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A coroner has ruled that gambling addiction played \u201ca major part\u201d in a man\u2019s death in Croydon. Gareth…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":535291,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[163,85,46,522,523],"class_list":["post-535290","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mental-health","tag-health","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-mental-health","tag-mentalhealth"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/535290","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=535290"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/535290\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/535291"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=535290"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=535290"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=535290"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}