Is bet365 Responsible for a 19-Year-Old UK Gambler’s Suicide?

An inquest into the death of Arthur Soames this week concluded that the 19-year-old took his own life due to mental health distress exacerbated by gambling. In the months leading up to his death, Soames had been gambling excessively online at bet365, leading to questions of how the operator could have intervened in the case.

The West London Coroner’s Court heard that Soames first opened his Bet365 account in June 2020, shortly after his 18th birthday, the legal gambling age in the UK. Initially, he placed infrequent bets on soccer, but in December 2021, he began playing online casino games, including roulette and blackjack.

In a press release, Leigh Day, the legal firm that represented Soames’ family in the case, stated, “In the following two months, the amount of time and money which Arthur spent gambling increased sharply. His gambling sessions became longer, often taking place in the early hours of the morning, which is a recognised indicator of gambling harm.”

bet365 sent over 80 marketing messages to the student, with only one warning email. Dan Webster from Leigh Day said the company should have done more.

He commented, “Arthur’s gambling with bet365 showed a number of significant indicators of harm which the inquest heard should have been identified and should have led to further interaction and intervention in Arthur’s gambling.”

Account Was in Net Winning Position

A spokesperson for bet365 responded, “This is an incredibly tragic and complex case and our thoughts and condolences remain with Arthur’s family and friends. bet365 strives for the highest safer gambling standards and consistently reviews and updates procedures, including during the last five years. We will now take time to consider the inquest’s findings, and we once again extend our sincere condolences to Arthur’s family and friends.”

During the inquest, the company opposed the suggestion that it was gambling that caused his death, noting that his account was in a net winning position. They said other factors were causing him stress that contributed to his struggles.

Leigh Day said that the volume of bets should have triggered an alert; he placed 1,600 wagers in the months leading up to his death. In January 2022, The Times reported that he wagered £13,000 ($17,000). It was not revealed how much of that he lost, but on the day of his death, he lost seven casino bets in a row, each time doubling his stake.

The coroner, Ian Arrow, said this “exhausted all viable funds and credit” available to him. He added, “He told his friends ‘I have lost everything.’ In my view it was more than just funds he had lost. It was his familiar and social standing. I accept the evidence that his depression reinforced his gambling and his gambling reinforced his depression.”

Calls for Greater Protection

His family called on the UK to implement new measures to protect gamblers from harm. His mother, Isabelle Soames, stated, “We are now calling on the Gambling Commission to introduce greater protection, particularly for young people and to prevent gambling operators from offering them free bets or cross-selling them highly addictive casino products.”

The UK has implemented some measures in attempts to curb problem gambling, including introducing a stake limit on slots. This has not reduced the amount of money lost playing the games, however.

UK gamblers wagered over £25.7 billion ($35 billion) on slots over three months at the end of last year, up from £24 billion ($32 billion) in the same period in 2024.

“We believe the Commission should require operators to have a tailored risk detection system for Arthur’s age group, focusing more on frequency of bets, length of sessions spent gambling and time of day when gambling is taking place, with night-time gambling being a high risk indicator – as opposed to amounts of money lost,” said Isabelle Soames. “We believe that only by introducing such protections can more young lives like Arthur’s be prevented from being tragically lost.”

In some instances, the UK Gambling Commission has dished out hefty fines to operators for failures in their responsibilities. In Soames’ case, it did not reveal the results of an investigation into bet365. If his account was net positive, as the company claimed, this may have exonerated it from any penalties.

Webster said this shows the gambling regulator’s failings, stating, “Not for the first time, this gives rise to serious questions about the Commission’s fitness for purpose as a regulator tasked with protecting the public from gambling harm and with investigating operators’ conduct in these most serious cases.”

Case Highlights Several Failures

While bet365 and the Commission may bear some responsibility for their lack of intervention, the case also highlighted failures of the mental health support system in the UK and a lack of attention to problem gambling.

As his family increasingly worried about his well-being, he sought help from his doctor. Initial screenings did not include any questions about gambling. When he eventually told mental health services that he was spending large amounts of time and money gambling, no action was taken.

“Their communication was not good,” said his mother. “We didn’t know how bad things were, and we didn’t know the level of risk.”

His family was not aware of his gambling and only found out the extent of it after his death. His mother added, “I was so shocked. I was just seeing one bet after another. I had no idea.”