A coroner has called for national gambling reform after finding that online betting was the “direct and paramount causative fact” in the suicide of a Melbourne man who lost almost A$50,000 in four years.
Kyle Hudson opened his first betting account on his 18th birthday and went on to place 8,585 bets with Sportsbet, Ladbrokes, Neds, Bookmaker and bet365.
He lost A$47,945 before taking his own life at his home in Werribee, in Melbourne’s south-west, on 6 July 2021.
In findings handed down on Tuesday, Victorian coroner Paul Lawrie said Mr Hudson’s case showed the “human cost of online gambling” and should be “a clear signal” that monitoring and intervention could not be left solely to betting companies.
Mr Hudson’s final two bets were placed in the 12 hours before his death. At 12.53am, he staked A$5,000 on a women’s basketball match through bet365, losing when the game ended at 10.41am.
Two minutes later, he placed another bet worth A$1,300. After losing that wager, he searched online for information about how to die by suicide and took his own life shortly afterwards.
Mr Lawrie found that Mr Hudson was a problem gambler and was suffering gambling harm before his death.
Coroner criticises betting company interventions
The coroner said Mr Hudson’s gambling had prompted betting agencies to contact him about safer betting, including by suspending his accounts.
Sportsbet locked his account eight times, but it was reactivated after Mr Hudson spoke to an employee by telephone and said he was betting within his limits.
Mr Lawrie criticised the approach, saying it relied on a customer’s answers rather than taking account of the full pattern of their betting activity.
“None of the communications or interventions directed to Kyle had any meaningful effect,” he said.
He also criticised submissions from Sportsbet at the inquest that there had been no indication Mr Hudson was a problem gambler.
“It is chilling that this is Sportsbet’s view,” Mr Lawrie said. “The analysis of Kyle’s betting activity presents a startling picture of a young man whose life after age 18 was dominated by online gambling.”
The coroner made nine recommendations, including the creation of a national online gambling regulator by the federal government.
The proposed regulator would license betting companies, oversee a national data vault and introduce standardised tools to protect players.
A Sportsbet spokesperson said the company would take time to consider the findings.
“We know there are no words that will be of comfort to Kyle Hudson’s loved ones at this time,” the spokesperson said. “Sportsbet acknowledges there is more to do and we remain committed to continually strengthening consumer protections.”
