Gambling reform campaigner Annie Ashton has filed a legal claim with the High Court challenging the Gambling Commission’s decision not to take any regulatory action against Betfair – the company her husband Luke Ashton gambled with before he took his life – despite serious failings identified at his inquest.

Betfair is owned by Flutter, the company behind Fanduel. Annie is seeking the court’s permission to challenge the Commission’s decision by judicial review.

“The Gambling Commission’s refusal to take action against Betfair after the serious failings exposed at Luke’s inquest is a dereliction of duty,” Annie Ashton said. “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 future deaths.”

Luke’s 2023 inquest concluded he died following a gambling disorder and that Betfair failed meaningfully to intervene in his gambling despite a sharp escalation in his gambling in the weeks before he died.

The Commission’s reasons for not sanctioning Betfair for its failures included that it was not clear whether changes made by Betfair during a “special measures” process for social responsibility and anti-money laundering issues had been implemented before or after the time of Luke’s gambling.

Annie has argued that the Commission’s refusal to act is a failure to fulfil its regulatory duties, raising serious concerns about its ability to protect people from gambling-related harm – particularly in the light of the fact that the “special measures” were already in place before Luke’s gambling significantly escalated.

“The Commission can’t regulate behind closed doors without being publicly accountable for its decisions and its failures to hold the sector to account,” Annie said. “The role of operators in gambling-related deaths must always be properly investigated.”

Derek Webb, founder of the Campaign for Fairer Gambling (CFG), who has provided support to Mrs Ashton’s challenge, said, “Annie is bravely exposing how compromised the British internet gambling operators and the regulator are. I am proud to offer philanthropic support to help bring this action.”

Read more on the BBC here.