Coroner finds online gambling caused death of 22-year-old Kyle Hudson, urges overhaul

A Victorian coroner has found that online gambling was "the direct and paramount causative factor underlying his decision to take his own life" in the case of Kyle Hudson, a 22-year-old from Werribee who died on 6 July 2021. The Guardian

Coroner Paul Lawrie examined four years of Hudson's betting history. Hudson opened his first online gambling account with Sportsbet on his 18th birthday in 2017. Over the next four years, he gambled $895,733 through Sportsbet and other online betting platforms run by Entain and Bet365. He placed his last bets hours before his death.

Most of the activity was concentrated with one operator. Lawrie found that 85% of Hudson's gambling occurred with Sportsbet. In the last six months of his life, Hudson made bets on 110 of 187 days, averaging 9.2 bets for each betting day. Forensic accounting analysis cited by the coroner put his overall net gambling loss at more than $47,000.

The inquest also heard about warning signs inside the companies' systems. Hudson triggered behavioural alerts within Sportsbet's systems on 37 occasions over four years, with the first occurring within two months of his 18th birthday.

Lawrie found that Hudson's online betting was the direct cause of the breakdown of his relationship with longtime girlfriend Ashley Baker in the days before his death. The coroner described Hudson's death as "heartbreaking." The Australian

The betting companies gave different assessments of Hudson's gambling during the inquest. Representatives for Entain and Bet365 acknowledged in evidence that, with all facts in view, Hudson appeared to have been suffering from gambling harm. Sportsbet submitted that there was insufficient evidence to conclude Hudson had been suffering from gambling harm, a proposition Lawrie rejected.

Following the findings, Lawrie called for a major overhaul of Australia's regulation of online gambling.