‘My cousin died after placing 600 bets in a row’

The family of the man who said he committed suicide after placing more than 600 bets in an hour told the BBC that there was a “war” in the investigation from start to finish, trying to persuade the coroner to consider gambling was a factor in the death.

According to his family, in the early hours of July 24, 2020, Lee Adams, 36, placed hundreds of bets on an online slots website shortly after receiving his monthly salary. Within hours, the South Londoner took his own life.

More than five years later, in November 2025, a coroner concluded that a gambling disorder contributed to his death.

Adams’ cousin, Natalie Ashbolt, said the family should instruct lawyers for the coroner to consider the effects of gambling and called for better support for families affected by gambling-related deaths.

Ashbolt, whose family also has the support of campaign group Gambling with Lives, said he was shocked at how difficult the process was and worried other bereaved families would struggle to reach a similar conclusion at the inquest.

The family’s lawyers, Leigh Day, believe Adams’ inquest at Southwark Coroner’s Court is the third time the role of gambling has been considered in depth at an inquest, despite there being around 500 gambling-related suicides a year in England. According to a report from the Department for Health Improvement and Inequalities.

Following her mother’s death, Natalie lived with Lee in Streatham for most of her adult life.

“He loved his own company but he also loved spending time with his family, friends and colleagues,” he told BBC London. “Always busy. But overall fun-loving and ready to laugh. I’ve never taken anything too seriously in life.”

He added: “I always knew he had gambled a bit on slot machines over the years or put down £10 here and there online, but it wasn’t a noticeable issue until he got his big win.”

His cousin said that in March 2020 Adams had won just under £100,000 and from that point his gambling behavior “continued to spiral”.

“Thousands and thousands of people returned to the sites. Of course we said the normal things: ‘Stop while you’re ahead, don’t put it back any further. Be sensible.’

“As the weeks went by, he put on a bunch of loads again and felt terrible about it.”

The coroner also ruled that in the months before his death, which took place during the Covid lockdown, Adams had suffered from a long-term depressive illness and had become increasingly dependent on and interested in gambling.

The coroner found Adams was contacted by the operator in late March about his deposits and stated he was fine. He continued to gamble and was not identified as being at increased risk.

Giving an explanatory verdict, the coroner said there were missed opportunities for the gambling operator at the time, but they did not contribute to Adams’ death.

“We didn’t have any concerns about leaving Lee on his own. We had no knowledge of how bad things were or how bad things could have been in this situation,” Ashbolt said.

He told BBC London he was “numb… completely shocked” when he learned his cousin had died.

‘The tip of the iceberg’

He said the family was unable to properly grieve until the investigation was concluded.

“We were surprised at how difficult the investigation process was,” Ashbolt told the BBC.

“We need to acknowledge that it was a success that gambling disorder was listed as a causative factor – as a family we knew this from the beginning,” he said, adding that he felt the operator was “not held accountable”.

“It was challenging to even get the coroner to consider that,” Ashbolt said [gambling]”, but the appointment of lawyers helped.

He believes the system is “failing” and “not set up to consider gambling.”

“Unless you have the private funding, the support and the ability to get the coroner to accept that they will be dealing with gambling… to get to where we are is not going to happen for all the families it needs to happen.”

Lawyers for Leigh Day told BBC London that this was the third inquest they were aware of since 2022, in which the coroner had found gambling contributed to someone’s suicide.

The law firm’s Dan Webster believes these deaths are “the tip of the iceberg.”

The nature of the gambling disorder is that it is “at times hidden from loved ones”, making it difficult for bereaved families, but he said there was “resistance to having those concerns investigated” when they brought their concerns to the coroner.

Webster said before he began supporting the family, he was told the coroner “had all the evidence he needed and intended to continue the investigation without seeking anything further.”

The inquest was originally scheduled to continue in March 2022, but the coroner postponed the hearing at the last minute, according to Webster. The investigation was subsequently subject to repeated delays.

He added: “I think it’s really important for coroners to become more aware of the link between gambling and gambling disorder and suicide.”

Leigh Day lawyers are also representing the family of Gareth Evans, 40, of Croydon, who was found dead at his home in November 2021.

A coroner is investigating the possible contribution of gambling to Evans’ death. The investigation has not yet been concluded.

In January 2025, the National Institute for Excellence in Care and Health published: Guidelines for the treatment and identification of gamblingHe recommends that general practitioners ask questions about the patient’s gambling during routine checks, as well as about drinking and smoking.

Charles Ritchie, founder of Gambling with Lives, which raises awareness of problem gambling, said: “Not only does it mean that the coroner has to inquire, it also means that there is an evidence base if it exists in the medical record.”

It was founded by Ritchie and his wife Liz after their son Jack killed himself in 2017 while struggling with a gambling addiction.

In 2022 the coroner ruled that the 24-year-old teacher from Sheffield had failed. “woefully inadequate” warnings and treatments.

“Jack’s was the first significant gambling investigation ever undertaken. It was a very long process,” Ritchie said. “This shouldn’t be a war, but right now it is.”

He told BBC London that coroners “often do not know that the national suicide prevention strategy recognizes gambling as a suicide risk factor, or that they have the capacity to include evidence of gambling that occurred before the suicide within the scope of the inquest.”

“Families often do not have the legal knowledge to explain why or how gambling should be covered unless they have specialist legal representation.”

Ritchie added: “In the interest of justice, we want to ensure that every death is investigated on behalf of the individual.

“We believe that these people were exploited by gambling and gambling operators throughout their lives. As a society, we need to learn from their deaths.”

Ritchie said the biggest challenge in supporting around 150 bereaved families was “convincing the coroner that gambling should be taken into account”.

He said there were cases where families were “very confident” that gambling was the “number one cause of death”, adding: “And the coroner is still not ready to look into that.”

How does the investigation system work?

• According to the law, the purpose of the investigation is limited to determining who died, when, where and how, and where the death occurred in certain circumstances (for example, sudden or suspicious).

• The findings and findings obtained during the investigation are final and form part of the official record.

• Coroners are required to issue a Report to Prevent Future Deaths where they believe the change could reduce the risk of other deaths.

• The Chief Coroner has shared a briefing provided by the gambling regulator with all coroners, outlining what it is and what it does, the BBC understands.

• 2023 suicide prevention strategy for England identifies gambling as a significant risk factor. It is stated that “new and better quality evidence is emerging pointing to links between suicide and risk factors such as harmful gambling and domestic abuse.”

Currently, gambling license holders must notify the Gambling Commission (the industry’s regulator) if they become aware that a person gambling with them has taken their own life.

A spokesman for the regulator said: “When we become aware that a person has committed suicide and gambling may have been a factor, we assess whether this indicates regulatory failings by a gambling company. If they fail to comply with our rules we will take regulatory action against them.”

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: “While we understand the desire for better information about the links between gambling and suicide, simply asking coroners to record motivation does not provide a reliable picture because they often work with limited or incomplete information.”

BBC London contacted the Court and the Court of Sessions Jurisdiction but it did not wish to comment. Southwark Coroner’s Court has also been contacted for comment.

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