Coroner urges online gambling changes after ‘heartbreaking’ death of Melbourne man Kyle Hudson
A coroner calls for major online gambling reform after the death of Kyle Hudson, a young man dominated by betting.Summary
A coroner has called for a major overhaul of Australia’s online gambling regulation following the death of Kyle Hudson. Hudson opened his first betting account at 18 and died by suicide four years later, having placed over 8,500 bets worth almost $900,000. Coroner Paul Lawrie found that Hudson’s gambling was the direct and paramount cause of his death, describing his adult life as dominated by gambling despite efforts to address his addiction. Hudson hid his problems but confessed to his partner, Ashley Baker, in December 2020 that he had lost all his savings. Two days before his death, he asked her for $1,000 without explanation. On the day he died, he made two losing bets totalling $6,300 and then searched for suicide methods. About 85% of his online betting was through SportsBet, but he also used Ladbrokes, Neds, Bookmaker and Bet365, and had received hundreds of inducements to keep gambling. Coroner Lawrie criticised SportsBet for arguing that the evidence did not establish Hudson was a problem gambler, calling that argument “chilling.” He recommended establishing a national online gambling regulator and a national data vault to collect and study customer data from all betting companies, special protections for young people including deposit and loss limits and a ban on bonus offers and betting inducements, and a change to the national consumer framework for online wagering to mandate companies to prominently display each account holder’s net financial position.
(Source：PerthNow)