‘My son would still be alive’: Anguish of mother who blames bet365 and NHS failures after student, 19, took his own life following gambling addiction

The mother of a 19-year-old boy who took his own life after developing a gambling addiction believes her son could still be alive today if bet365 and mental health services had acted sooner.

Arthur Soames, a first-year university student from west London, died in May 2022 after his gambling habits rapidly intensified from casual bets on football to late-night sessions on addictive casino games.

In December 2021 Soames, who already struggled with anxiety and depression, began spending more time and money on the gambling platform – often playing  blackjack and roulette in the early hours of the morning.

An inquest into the teenager’s death at West London Coroner’s Court this week concluded with Ian Arrow claiming bet365 failed to identify the risk of harm posed to Soames by gambling.

Throughout his time gambling, bet365 sent Soames more than 80 marketing messages – many of which included free bet offers – and only one of them was a warning over the time he had spent on the platform.

On the day before his death, he lost over £150 in five minutes after an hour-long session which left his bet365 and bank accounts almost completely empty.

The inquest heard that the gambling operator should have intervened more strongly due to the evidence of Soames’s addiction.

Following the hearing’s conclusion, Soames’s mother Isabelle said her son was a ‘ray of sunshine’ who ‘unbeknownst to us, was living with an undiagnosed gambling disorder’.

It was also concluded by the coroner that Soames had a gambling disorder and that the mental health services did not identify an increased risk of self-harm to Soames in the run-up to his death.

Isabelle said: ‘We were devastated to learn at the inquest that the mental health team in charge of Arthur’s care were aware that he was at such a high risk of suicide. However, they failed to share this potentially life-saving information with us so we could take more steps to help and protect him.

‘It is our firm belief that the serious harm caused by his gambling led to Arthur tragically ending his life. We also believe that Bet365 failed to recognise the intensity of his gambling on online casino games and failed to take any meaningful action to intervene or regulate it.

‘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.’

Isabelle said the Commission should ‘require operators to have a tailored risk detection system’ for people in her son’s age group to analyse betting patterns for risk.

She added: ‘We believe that only by introducing such protections can more young lives like Arthur’s be prevented from being tragically lost.’

The coroner also said he could make a final decision about addressing a Prevention of Future Deaths report to the Comission at a later date. 

Soames’s mental health worsened while he was gambling – which was a major concern for his family – but he did not tell them about his addictions.

He returned to his family home in April 2022 from university to receive additional mental health support and to be surrounded by his family.

Soames sat down with a private psychologist and sought additional help from his GP to discuss his mental health problems and suicidal thoughts, however the teenager was not referred for further help.

His family instead took him to west London NHS Trust’s crisis team, where in the following weeks he was assessed by both the crisis team and the early intervention in psychosis service.

The inquest heard evidence that information about Soames’s suicide risk was not communicated between the two services and that this important information was not adequately updated before his death. 

The Soames family’s solicitor, Dan Webster from Leigh Day said: ‘The evidence heard at Arthur’s inquest raises serious concerns about the harm which gambling can cause, about Bet365’s conduct and about a lack of understanding of gambling harm among healthcare professionals.

‘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.

‘Arthur’s family are highly concerned, based on the position taken by Bet365 at the inquest, that it has failed to learn any lessons from Arthur’s case and that an individual who repeats Arthur’s gambling behaviour today would not receive any greater level of intervention.

‘The apparent lack of reflection and lesson learning by Bet365 has been facilitated by the Gambling Commission, given its failure to communicate its findings about failings in the handling of Arthur’s account to Bet365, to Arthur’s family or to anyone else. 

‘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.’

Mr Webster added that the family were also disappointed about the mental health care Soames received.

He said: ‘Arthur’s family believe it is vital that healthcare professionals receive appropriate training and guidance to ensure that signs of gambling harm can be identified and acted upon.

‘Arthur’s family were also shocked to learn during the course of the inquest about the extent of information which mental health services had about Arthur’s level of risk of suicide in the period leading up to his death and the inadequate steps taken by mental health services to manage those risks and to share information with Arthur’s family.

‘They believe it is vital that information about risk of suicide is shared with family members where appropriate, so that they can take additional steps to support their loved one and protect them from harm.’

A Bet365 spokesperson told The Times: ‘This is an incredibly tragic and complex case and our thoughts and condolences remain with Arthur’s family and friends. We strive for the highest safer gambling standards and consistently review and update procedures, including during the last five years. We will now take time to consider the inquest’s findings.’

For confidential support call the Samaritans on 116123 or visit a local Samaritans branch, see www.samaritans.org for details