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Investigation finds William Hill responsible in suicide case
An inquest conducted into the suicide of Gareth Evans has found that operator William Hill’s lack of intervention efforts contributed to the 40-year-old’s death in November 2021.
Conducted at Croydon Coroner’s Court by assistant coroner Adela Williams, the investigation revealed that Evans’ gambling addiction played a role in his death, as the user had a history of problem gambling since 2014.
According to the inquest, Evans had chosen to self-exclude through William Hill with GamStop in 2020, after which he filed a complaint with the operator, arguing that the losses suffered as a result of gambling had strongly deteriorated his mental health.
Tony Evans, Gareth Evans’ father, shared:
“Four and a half years since Gareth took his own life, the coronial process has confirmed what we as a family always knew: that his death was directly caused by the gambling industry and its dangerously addictive products, and that William Hill failed in their duties to protect him. We are also pleased that the Coroner will issue a Prevention of Future Death report.”
Evans’ complaint to William Hill was rejected, allowing him to continue gambling in the operator’s venues from April 2021. Two weeks before taking his own life, Evans was allegedly planning to file another claim against William Hill, arguing that despite his heavy betting frequency, the operator or its employees never reached out to discuss the risky behavior.
A spokesperson from William Hill’s parent company evoke shared:
“We would like to extend our sincere condolences to Mr Evans’ family in this tragic case. “Since taking ownership of William Hill in July 2022, we have continuously evolved and improved our safer gambling processes and systems to ensure we adhere to changing industry-wide regulations.”
The executive director of the UKGC, Tim Miller, stated that the regulator had also identified failures in William Hill’s policies after conducting a separate investigation connected to the case.
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