“Heartbroken” family call for urgent action to target illegal gambling sites after death of brother
An inquest concluded that Oliver Long who been diagnosed with a severe gambling disorder died by suicide
The family of a Buckinghamshire man who died in Sussex after battling a "devastating" gambling addiction say they are “heartbroken” and are urging for more to be done to target illegal black-market gambling websites.
An inquest concluded that Oliver Long from Wendover who had been diagnosed with a severe gambling disorder died took his own life in February 2024.
The court heard that the 36-year-old had been able to bypass a block on several online gambling websites, by visiting unregulated, overseas websites which appear when searching for the self-exclusion scheme.
During the inquest hearing, Senior Coroner for East Sussex Laura Bradford highlighted that more could be done to highlight risk posed by illegal gambling sites.
She said: “People may not be aware that they have moved outside the protection afforded by the regulation area when accessing unlicensed providers.”
'More could be done to regulate the industry'
A pen portrait read to the court described Oliver as “intelligent, quick witted, and exceptionally kind” – but gambling stole “not only his money, but his peace, his future, and ultimately, his life.”
Oliver’s sister, Chloe Long said it should be priority that the Gambling Commission “does more to target the illegal black-market sites that are targeting the self-excluded and the underage.”
She added: "I think there's significantly more that could be done to regulate the industry to prevent harm.
“That could include looking at existing legislation, which is incredibly outdated and doesn't take into consideration that everybody has a smartphone and can gamble 24/7 from their pockets.
“I also think advertising is a really significant issue, you can see the overwhelming amount of advertising in any sports in this country. It's unavoidable. So, if you're suffering from gambling harm, you can't escape it.”
Legislation to give the Gambling Commission more power to require internet providers to deal with illegal sites is expected to come into force next year.
"It is a threat that we take seriously"
A spokesperson for the Gambling Commission says it is “deeply saddened by the loss of Oliver Long and our thoughts are with his family and loved ones.
“The targeting of vulnerable people by illegal gambling operators is a criminal act. Unlicensed operators deliberately seek to evade protections such as GamStop and can pose serious risks to consumers.
“It is a threat that we take seriously.”
The Commission also says it is working hard to tackle aggressive marketing and prevent illegal sites from being accessed from Great Britain which requires a joined-up approach between regulators, GamStop, licensed operators, technology platforms, financial sectors and enforcement bodies.
Continuing: “Future changes will also enable us to continue to grow our efforts in tackling the unlicensed market.
“We welcome the commitment in the recent Budget to support our efforts to tackle illegal gambling.”