The “devastated” family of a man from Streatham, South London, have shared with an inquest their belief that his online gambling addiction “caused” him to take his own life.
Yesterday (Monday, June 30), Southwark Coroners Court heard that Lee Adams, 36, placed a bet ‘every six seconds for over an hour’ the day he died, making as many as 7,500 bets every month.
Mr Adams’ relatives shared that he had wrestled with a gambling addiction for several months and “couldn’t take it any more” after losing £95,000 he won at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. The man placed his final bet on his Virgin Games account half an hour before making a 999 call on the day of his death, the inquest heard.
According to his family, Mr Adams also lost an entire month’s wages in under two hours that same day in July 2020. Describing Mr Adams to the inquest, his family described him as a “talented” musician and artist who had become “consumed” by gambling. Mr Adams reportedly “tortured” himself for losing the money from his big win on Virgin Games, whose operator, Gamesys Operations Limited, are an interested party at the inquest.
The London Ambulance Service (LAS) are also an interested party, as Mr Adam’s family have concerns about the emergency service response to his 999 call. The inquest heard that rather than forcing entry themselves, paramedics waited around 18 minutes for police to arrive to break into Mr Adams’ home.
Natalie Ashbolt, a cousin of Mr Adams, claimed his gambling was the main cause of his death in evidence given at the inquest. She shared with the inquest that a note found at Mr Adams’ Streatham home where he was living with Mrs Ashbolt’s mother, read: “I can’t take it anymore. Please don’t hate me. I love you all.”
Mrs Ashbolt said: “I believe [this] was reference to his gambling and the harm it caused. I can only believe that gambling caused Lee’s death. He was addicted to gambling. I think his big win and his subsequent losses led to his death.”
Mrs Ashbolt told the inquest that following a breakup in March 2019, Mr Adam’s mental health had deteriorated. She said he began gambling “a lot” in the summer and was furloughed from builders’ merchant Travis Perkins at the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020.
By the end of that same month, Mr Adams had his win of £95,000 on Virgin Games and told his family he was planning to use it to put a deposit down on a house of his own. However, just a month later, he told his cousin he had “lost” so much of his winnings that he could only afford to rent.
Mrs Ashbolt said: “He said he only had enough for a deposit for renting. That was a real eye-opener for how much he had lost in previous weeks. I said the win would turn out to be the best or the worst thing to happen to him. He said he asked the company he was gambling with to block [his account].”
She added: “It became clear he was really struggling. He was beating himself up about how much he had lost from this win. It was clear how his gambling was controlling him at this time. He was blaming and torturing himself about the money he had lost.”
Mrs Ashbolt said that in May and July, Mr Adams asked her and her wife to borrow money. She said: “I asked him how it was possible that he had lost all his winnings. He said something like: ‘I know, I shouldn’t have’. He was completely unable to control his gambling.”
She added: “He didn’t accept he had a problem with gambling but expressed disappointment with himself for putting so much back into gambling. I don’t think we realised how severely Lee’s gambling impacted his mental health. I think he was pushed to a point where so felt so desperate. ‘I can’t take it anymore’… [Lee’s note] indicates that he took the overdose because he couldn’t control his gambling.”
Mrs Ashbolt told the court she had viewed her cousin’s gambling records since his death and discovered he placed his last bet just half an hour before making a 999 call, after taking an overdose. She added that on the day he died, Mr Adams had placed an average of one bet every six seconds for over an hour.
The inquest was told he had placed 7,500 bets in March 2020, nearly 4,500 bets in June and nearly 2,700 bets in July before his death on July 24.
It was also heard that he had taken out several loans of as much as £500 and that monthly paychecks from Travis Perkins were directly correlated with spending on Virgin Games.
Mrs Ashbolt said: “I believe the lack of intervention after [Lee’s] big win, combined with incentives to gamble more, made it much more difficult [to stop gambling]. He had already been flagged as a player at risk. He was desperate, out of control. He was constantly induced to gamble more at a time when he was particularly vulnerable. That was the sole reason for taking his life: his gambling.”
In a family pen portrait, Mr Adams’ family said his addiction had ‘consumed’ him. They said: “Lee was a rare soul. His life was not without challenge, but he had a resolve which he showed through his talent for art and music. He poured his heart into everything he created. It was not only a reflection of his talent, but of his spirit.”
The statement continued: “Known for his humour, quick thinking and passion, he always put others before himself. As a son, brother, uncle, nephew, friend or partner, he created laughter and love. He would have done anything for anyone – especially his family. He was a very intuitive and fast-thinking person. His instinct and courage [once] saved his young niece’s [life].”
They added: “Helping others was simply a part of who he was. To the people who loved him, he will always be more than the struggles he faced. He had so much more to live. Lee was more than the gambling that consumed him.”
Mr Adams’ family also raised concerns at the inquest about the emergency services’ response to his 999 call. In the call, played to the court, Mr Adams, who was on the bathroom floor of his home in Streatham, tells the call handler he has taken an overdose and “can’t move” to open the door for paramedics.
But despite LAS paramedics being able to force entry if they’re able to “fully ascertain that life is in immediate danger”, paramedics instead waited 18 minutes for police to arrive and force entry to the home, the inquest heard. Nicholas Tippett, one of the paramedics who attended the scene, said he had received no training in forcing entry.
Jesse Nicholls, the barrister acting on behalf of Mr Adams’ family, said: “There are sounds that sound like vomiting, [Mr Adams has told the ambulance call handler] he doesn’t know if he can stay awake, that he’s alone in the property and he’s losing his sight… You are waiting for 18 minutes. Did you not think, ‘There is someone inside who has taken an overdose and I am just standing here waiting’? There is nothing to suggest any risk in forcing entry; the upside would be saving a life, wouldn’t it?”
The inquest, expected to last around two weeks, continues.
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