Inquest into the death of 36-year-old Londoner Lee Adams finds that gambling disorder caused him to take his own life

The Senior Coroner for Inner South London, Dr Julian Morris concluded that Lee took his own life on 24 July 2020 at his home in Streatham after gambling heavily in the months leading up to his death. The inquest heard that Lee placed 628 bets in just over an hour on the Virgin Games platform shortly before he died. 

The coroner found that there were missed opportunities by Virgin Games, owned by Gamesys Operations Ltd, and that he was surprised Lee’s levels of gambling did not trigger further interaction or intervention, although he did not find that this contributed to his death

Lee's family say more should be done to protect people from the dangers of online gambling and that his death highlights the dangers of addictive online slot games and the targeting of customers with inducements to gamble more.

They are calling on the Gambling Commission and the industry to do more to ensure that gamblers at risk of harm are identified, that appropriate interventions are carried out and customers are not targeted with inducements to gamble more when they are already showing clear signs of harm.

Lee’s cousin, Natalie Ashbolt, told the inquest she was not aware of Lee having gambling problems until late March 2020, when he had a big win of over £90,000 gambling on online slots games with Virgin Games. Lee initially planned to use this money to buy himself a house, which he had dreamed of doing for a long time, but just a few weeks later he told Natalie that he had lost so much of his winnings that he could no longer afford to pay a deposit to buy a property and would only be able to rent somewhere. In the following months, Natalie described how Lee became increasingly desperate due to the impact of his gambling and told her that he ‘could not forgive himself’ for being unable to control his gambling.

The inquest, which began on Monday 30 June and heard evidence over eight days, also heard from several independent experts on a range of issues, including:

• Professor David Forrest, a gambling standards expert, gave evidence that there were numerous indicators of harm in Lee’s gambling with Virgin Games throughout the period from late March 2020 until Lee’s death and that the operator should have done more to interact with Lee and to intervene in his gambling. He described Lee’s gambling behaviour on a number of occasions during this period as ‘exceptional’ and ‘extreme’. He also gave evidence that Virgin Games’ provision of bonuses and rewards to Lee, who was part of a ‘VIP’ promotional scheme, was inappropriate and dangerous, given that Lee was a customer who should have been recognised as being vulnerable.
   
• Professor Dame Clare Gerada, a GP expert with a specialism in Gambling Disorder,  gave evidence that Lee had a severe and persistent Gambling Disorder and that Lee’s gambling exacerbated his anxiety and created “a vicious cycle of financial and emotional distress. The guilt, shame, and hopelessness caused by his gambling led to feelings of deep emotional pain. This emotional turmoil likely contributed to the deterioration of his mental state, although the gambling disorder itself was the main factor.”

Also giving evidence at the inquest, Kane Purdy, Managing Director of Virgin Games’ parent company, Gamesys Operations Limited, said that the operator was satisfied that Lee was able to afford his gambling between March and July 2020 due to his big win. He stated that the operator did not consider Lee to be ‘chasing his losses’ because he was in a ‘net positive’ position, having won more money with the operator overall than he had lost.

Mr Purdy also gave evidence about regulatory action which the Gambling Commission had taken against Gamesys Operations Limited in January 2024, when the operator was fined £6 million for a range of failings, including in identifying and interacting with customers at risk of harm. He gave evidence that the Commission had also carried out an investigation of Virgin Games’ handling of Lee’s case and had identified a number of concerns, including that multiple markers of harm were detected but not adequately addressed. The Commission had decided not to take regulatory action arising from Virgin Games’ failings in Lee’s case because it considered that the operator’s failings in the relevant period had been adequately addressed by the regulatory action resulting in the £6 million fine in early 2024.

Lee’s family are represented by Merry Varney and Dan Webster with Helena Hart-Watson at law firm Leigh Day and counsel Jesse Nicholls of Matrix Chambers. 

Speaking after the inquest, Lee’s sister Lisa Osborne-Adams said:

“The inquest process has confirmed to us what we have firmly believed ever since Lee died: that he had a severe Gambling Disorder and that this is what caused his death.

“My brother Lee was deeply loving and unfailingly loyal, he always put others before himself and would have done anything for anyone, especially his family. To have lost our beloved Lee due to the gambling which consumed him has left a hole in our hearts that can never fully heal. To his family and friends, Lee was everything and always will be.”

Lee’s cousin, Natalie Ashbolt added:

“Lee took the overdose which caused his death within around half an hour of his final gambling on his Virgin Games account, having lost almost all his monthly pay in just over an hour. This came at a time when Lee was already in despair due to his gambling, having been allowed to lose tens of thousands of pounds with Virgin Games in the preceding months.

“In my view, it is extremely concerning that Lee was able to continue gambling with Virgin Games and induced to gamble even more with free bets and credits even after he was flagged due to an increase in his gambling activity. This had a devastating impact on him at a time when he was particularly vulnerable and pushed him into an unbearable place, ultimately leading to his death.

“To our family and all those who loved him, Lee will always be more than the struggles he faced. We will remember him for his bravery, his humour, and the boundless love he gave without hesitation. Lee had so much to live for and so much more to give to the world and our family will always carry him in our hearts.”

The family’s solicitor, Leigh Day’s Dan Webster said:

"The evidence heard at the inquest illustrated that Virgin Games has failed to learn lessons from this appalling case and does not accept, even in the face of the very serious concerns identified by the Gambling Commission and an independent expert, that it did anything wrong. That is highly concerning and indicative of the reality that gambling operators will not enact the change that is needed to prevent further deaths unless they are compelled to do so.

“Lee’s family have had to fight for over five years, through a gruelling inquest process, for their concerns about Lee’s gambling to be recognised. But for the inquest, Lee’s family would never have found out that the Gambling Commission had identified failings by Virgin Games in Lee’s case, as the Commission refused to share this information with them. 

“It is appalling that bereaved families have to fight tooth and nail to get to the truth. There is an urgent need for change in how gambling-related deaths are investigated, so that lessons can be learned, operators can be held properly accountable for failings which contribute to a death and bereaved families like Lee’s can be given the answers which they so clearly deserve.”