Women's World Cup: Mum calls for gambling ban after daughter's suicide

The mother of a woman who took her own life after becoming addicted to gambling is calling on officials in charge of women's football to reject betting sponsorship deals.

Kimberly Wadsworth died in 2018, at the age of 32, after losing large amounts of money through online gambling.

Her mother, Kay, from Cleckheaton in West Yorkshire, fears the soaring popularity of women's football and the global platform offered by the Women's World Cup will make the sport more attractive to betting companies.

She has now written to the governing body of the domestic Women's Super League calling for it to snub lucrative offers.

Mrs Wadsworth, 68, wrote: "I want to make a heartfelt plea to England's women's football not to go the same way as the men's game and be swamped with gambling partnerships."

She added: "As my experience shows, it’s not just young men who are at risk, and women are increasingly targeted by gambling advertising.

"Please don’t go down this path. The Lionesses have inspired a generation of young fans. There’s more dignity in valuing the wellbeing of these girls and boys with their whole lives ahead of them than there is in taking bloodied cash from a gambling firm."

Kimberly, a Leeds United fan, started gambling in 2015 after the death of her father.

Having begun on fixed-odd betting terminals, she went on to become obsessed with online casino games.

Her mother says she was "groomed" by gambling companies with free bets and promotional offers, even when it became apparent that she was losing "large, unsustainable amounts of money".

Kimberly died before her mother was able to get her help.

'I don't want other families to go through the same thing'

"It shattered my life, she was my only child and I'll never be the same person I was," she said.

"It's devastating. She was a beautiful girl, very strong but she was embroiled in something which just took over.

"There's a death every day through gambling and I don't want other families to go through what I've gone through."

Several women's clubs already have shirts sponsored by gambling companies, but Mrs Wadsworth is concerned about the spread of deals to include things like pitch side advertising and television advertising.

A Football Association spokesperson said: "Clubs govern their own relationships with gambling companies and both the Women’s Super League and the Women’s Championship will align with the decision from the [men's] Premier League clubs to withdraw gambling sponsorship from the front of matchday shirts from the 2026/27 season."

The Gambling Commission said any gambling-related death was "one too many".

A spokesperson said: "As the gambling regulator we will continue to take enforcement action, clamp down on irresponsible products, update our policies in line with best practice, and challenge the industry to make sure operators are interacting with customers and identifying early signs of harm."

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