Latest reports have shown that gambling operators in the UK can definitely make more efforts to regulate their services in order to take care of vulnerable customers who are considered at risk. At least these are the conclusions that most UK gambling companies could make from the tragic death of Ryan Myers from Huyton, Lancashire, who committed suicide as a result of excessive gambling.
The 27-year-old man reportedly took his own life as his gambling addiction made life too difficult for him and pushed him to suicide. Before taking his own life, the problem gambler published a post on Facebook that he was sorry about letting his family and friends down.
The suicide of Ryan Myers is only one of the hundreds of similar incidents that occur across the UK, as many problem gamblers find it difficult to deal with their addiction and the serious financial debt it has gotten them into. In many cases, suicide seems like the only possible thing they could do to get out of the vicious circle of gambling addiction has gotten them into.
The family of Myers discovered the actual severity of the young man’s problem gambling behaviour soon after his tragic death, after going through his emails and social media accounts. His father shared that what he discovered was hurtful because gambling operators have been literally bombarding his son with bonuses and promotional offers both before and after the young man’s death.
Problem Gamblers Literally Bombarded by Gambling Companies’ Special Offers and Promotions
The problem gambling’s father confirmed that gambling operators continued to push their notifications and promotional offers to his son’s accounts. According to reports, the British gambling sector continues to rely on gambling addicts, who currently constitute about 5% of all the gamblers in the country, to generate about 60% of its overall revenue. The UK gambling sector alone is estimated at approximately £14.2 billion.
The other major problem that the family of Ryan Myers shared is the fact that they were unaware of how deep the young man’s addiction was, even though they knew about his problem gambling behaviour. The father of the recently deceased gambler confirmed that Ryan was telling him that it had been impossible for him to get away from his gambling habits several months prior to taking his own life, referring to the excessive gambling advertising materials that were targeting him.
According to the victim’s family, one of the main issues with UK gambling was the fact that gambling was pretty much normalised as part of everyday life. Myers’ father criticised local gambling operators for bombarding customers with various offers and special bonuses, which pretty much turned them into active gamblers, and eventually, gambling addicts, while generating net profit for themselves.
Reportedly, over 400 deaths have been associated with gambling-related suicides in the UK on an annual basis. This has been exactly what anti-gambling campaigners have been warning about while insisting on the implementation of stricter measures in the sector that would reduce the customers’ exposure to gambling advertising, gambling sponsorship deals with professional sports clubs and athletes, and other measures that would tackle gambling-related harm.
- Author
Olivia Cole
