Kyle tried to limit his gambling seven times. After his death, a coroner asks why Sportsbet didn’t take it as a sign of concern
Ashley Baker still remembers the day she discovered her partner Kyle Hudson was addicted to gambling.
The couple were on Phillip Island to celebrate Hudson’s 18th birthday and went to see the penguins. When Hudson returned to his hotel room, he became uncharacteristically quiet.
He told Baker, whom he had been with since the age of 15, that he lost the $2,000 his mother gave him for his birthday while gambling.
“He told me he had lost all his money and wanted to die,” Baker told the first day of the Victorian Coroner’s Court on Monday, as part of the inquest into Hudson’s suicide when she was 22.
“It was really unusual for him to say that, and I asked him not to say that.”
In a landmark inquest, Victorian Coroner Paul Lawrie is set to investigate a number of factors, including how Hudson’s frequent interactions with online betting agencies such as gambling giant Sportsbet and his history of online gambling may have contributed to his decision to take his life on July 6, 2021.
Baker said the only thing she and Hudson fought about throughout their seven-year relationship was his gambling addiction.
“He would set boundaries for himself and he would always change it… and it would start all over again,” Baker told the inquest. “We were talking all the time about him stopping.”
On the first day of the inquest, the court was told that Hudson deposited more than $406,000 with betting companies between 2017 and 2021. According to a forensic accountant’s report, he was given almost 500 incentives from various gambling companies during that four-year period, and his total losses were almost $48,000.
Hundreds of these incentives came from Sportsbet and often included offers of “bonus bets”, which are vouchers or tokens designed to entice a person to bet more.
The inquest was told that Hudson’s gambling triggered Sportsbet’s internal warning, which could have signaled potential harm in a number of situations. One time, the alarm was triggered after Hudson placed $3,000 in bets in a week. Between 2017 and 2021, the gambling giant contacted Hudson directly via email or phone calls 37 times regarding his gambling behavior.
Sarah Rizzo, Sportsbet’s customer operations manager, provided evidence that many of these internal alerts were manually reviewed by staff who decided “no further action” was required at the time.
The inquest was told Hudson self-imposed limits on his Sportsbet account seven times before removing or canceling them, and Lawrie asked why this was not identified as a “sign of concern” by the gambling giant.
The coroner also questioned the way Sportsbet ensured responsible gambling officers searched for customers flagged as potential problem gamblers.
These phone calls last between four and 10 minutes and are aimed at determining whether a person’s betting behavior puts them at risk.
“We may ask follow-up questions… for example, can you explain how you control your bets? What do you do to control your bets?” Rizzo told the court.
But Lawrie said Sportsbet had no choice but to “take customers’ responses at face value”.
Rizzo acknowledged that the method had some limitations, telling the investigation that the company’s security regulations had been strengthened since Hudson’s death and that if current measures were implemented in 2021, his behavior would trigger an alert in approximately 70 cases.
He also said Sportsbet now sends detailed monthly transaction histories to customers and continues to try to connect customers with a gambling expert even if calls are initially missed.
On the day he died at his family home in Melbourne’s outer west, Hudson placed two online bets worth more than $6000.
Hours after losing both bets, he Googled suicide methods on his laptop. Hudson’s mother found her son dead in the shed that evening.
The court heard the depth of Hudson’s addiction was unknown to many people except Baker, who became increasingly concerned about his gambling throughout their relationship.
After taking a break from gambling, Hudson told her in February 2021 that he wanted to start again but would stick to his $50 weekly spending limit and let her control access to his bank accounts and money. However, in the following months their relationship soured, largely due to his addiction.
Baker said that in the days before his death, he observed Hudson become increasingly anxious and distressed, and that Hudson told him he had lost his entire life savings gambling.
Baker said Hudson was admired by everyone who knew him.
“He was the kindest person ever,” he told the court, saying his family and friends were devastated by his death.
Counsel assisting the coroner, Stephanie Clancy, told the court there was no evidence that Hudson suffered significant stress related to his university studies or day job in the months before his death.
The court heard that the 22-year-old had a wide circle of friends, some of whom occasionally placed sports bets, had a kind nature and loved sports.
Clancy also told the court Baker and Hudson had a loving, mature and healthy relationship, but their problems with gambling were a source of anxiety and conflict.
Three online betting giants – Sportsbet, Bet365 and Ladbrokes – will give evidence this week. Lawrie will also examine the banking institutions where Hudson maintained accounts and withdrew large amounts of money to gamble.
The investigation continues.
Gamblers’ Help: 1800 858 858; Lifeline: 13 11 14.
Melissa Cunningham is The Age’s health correspondent. He has previously covered crime and justice issues.Connect with: X or email.
