Parents of Sheffield gambling addict speak of 'devastation' ahead of inquest into his death
The parents of a gambling addict from Sheffield who took his own life say potentially life-saving changes to betting laws have been delayed.
Jack Ritchie was 24 and working as an English teacher in Hanoi, Vietnam when he died in November 2017.
The Hull University history graduate had experienced gambling problems dating back to his teens.
An inquest into his death has started today (21 February) and will consider issues such as the state’s involvement in his death, the medical care he received and information he had about gambling risks.
In a statement read to the inquest, Jack’s friend Nick Clough described how they started going to bookmakers when they were under-age, in sixth form, and at first bet small amounts on FOBTs.
At first, Mr Clough said, his friend would try and double his money “to get a free lunch”.
But he said: “With Jack it became more than that.”
Mr Clough said that his friend won £1,000 in under 30 seconds and, after that, Jack’s attitude towards gambling changed as he began chasing his losses and looking for the big win.
His parents Charles and Liz Ritchie have spent the last four years arguing that failures on the part of UK authorities to address gambling issues contributed to their son’s death, and are campaigning for reform through the Gambling With Lives charity they set up.
They believe an undiagnosed gambling disorder lay behind his death and have argued there were no public health warnings about the risk to life posed by gambling products, and that their son was not diagnosed or offered treatment that linked his symptoms to gambling disorder.
Mr Ritchie said: "Jack’s inquest will give him respect and we’re very grateful that we have a legal process that will consider what happened to our son.
"That there is a coroner listening intently to the evidence about his death is significant for us and for everyone who believes that gambling affected their lost family member.
"The inquest comes at a time the Government is reviewing our gambling laws but continues to delay the changes which we believe will save lives.
"We know the resulting devastation first-hand and every day someone else dies and another family is added to the casualty list."
In 2020, senior Sheffield coroner David Urpeth ruled the inquest will investigate issues including the state’s provision of medical treatment to Mr Ritchie, and the information available to him and his family about the risks of gambling.
Mr Urpeth said the inquest would include looking at “what is the system of regulation around gambling” and “whether gambling caused or contributed to Jack’s death”.
Witnesses whose evidence was read to the inquest described how no one realised the extent of Jack’s problems until after he took his own life while teaching English in Vietnam on November 22 2017.
Forensic evidence presented to the inquest showed he was a regular visitor to the BetVictor online gambling website in the days leading up to his death.
A previous coroner, since retired, ruled in 2019 that the full hearing will be what is known as an “Article 2 inquest”.
This means it can examine whether any arm of the state breached its duty to protect Mr Ritchie’s right to life.
His family say they believe it is the first time an Article 2 inquest has been held in a case relating to gambling.
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the Department for Health and Social Care, and the Gambling Commission have been named as interested persons by the coroner, as have the charities GambleAware and GamCare.
Witnesses from the Gambling Commission, DHSC, GambleAware and GamCare will give evidence and there will be testimony from a range of other experts.
A DCMS spokesperson said: "Our thoughts are with Jack’s family at this difficult time and following this tragic case.
“We will not comment further until the inquest and legal proceedings have concluded.”
Help and support: