The family of a 19-year-old student who died after struggling with a severe gambling addiction have said that Bet365 should have “done more” to prevent his situation from escalating.
Arthur Soames, from Fulham, took his own life in May 2022 after losing all his money, including staking £13,000 in a single month.
A coroner concluded that his gambling addiction contributed to his death, although Bet365 has described that conclusion as “speculative”.
His mother, Isabelle Soames, paid tribute to her son, who was in his first year at university. She said:
“Arthur was a ray of sunshine in the lives of our family, and he leaves behind an enormous and irreplaceable void in all our lives.
‘Arthur had a wonderful sense of humour, a playful spirit, and achieved an extraordinary amount in his short life. He filled our world with love, humour, warmth, charm, kindness, and his unforgettable smile for 19 precious years, and he will be forever in our hearts.’
Arthur’s gambling reportedly began around six months before his death, initially placing occasional bets on his favourite football club, Chelsea.
Over time, this developed into intensive overnight sessions, with thousands of pounds being wagered on online casino games, unknown to his family at the time.
They only became aware of the extent of his activity after discovering bank statements showing significant deposits to Bet365.
Mrs Soames said: “Very sadly, Arthur struggled with his mental health in the last six months of his life and, unbeknownst to us, was living with an undiagnosed gambling disorder.”
In the months leading up to his death, his betting activity surged. Between December 2021 and early 2022, while already dealing with depression and anxiety, he placed around 1,600 bets in just three months. In January 2022 alone, he staked over £13,000.
On the day he died, he reportedly lost multiple consecutive casino bets, repeatedly increasing his stake each time. He had exhausted all available funds and credit.
At West London Coroner’s Court, coroner Ian Arrow said: “He told his friends, I have lost everything’. In my view, it was more than just the 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.”
Arthur’s family said they were aware he was struggling with mental health issues, partly linked to isolation during university amid the pandemic, and had sought help for him.
However, they later learned during the inquest that professionals involved in his care were aware of his high suicide risk.
Mrs Soames 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.’”
According to the family’s solicitor, Dan Webster of Leigh Day, key warning signs were missed: “The inquest heard that no screening questions about gambling were asked at any stage.
‘When Arthur disclosed to mental health services, just days before he died, that he was spending large amounts of time and money gambling, no action was taken to update Arthur’s risk assessment or care plan or to consider referring Arthur for gambling-related treatment.’”failed to intervene effectively despite clear signs of harmful behaviour.
Mrs Soames said: “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.”
They highlighted that the only recorded intervention was an automated email sent two months after his gambling had escalated, directing him to self-help tools. It remains unclear whether he ever saw the message.
Now, the family is urging the Gambling Commission to strengthen protections, particularly for younger users.
Mrs Soames said: “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.
‘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.
‘We believe that only by introducing such protections can more young lives like Arthur’s be prevented from being tragically lost.’”
Following the inquest, Bet365 reiterated its stance and expressed sympathy.
A spokesperson said, “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 its player protection and safer gambling 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.’”
Arthur’s family solicitor also raised concerns about the company’s response: “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.’”