Tragic Case of Gambling Addiction: The Story of Oliver Long

Oliver Long, originally from Buckinghamshire, had resided in London since 2012.

A coroner has determined that Long, a 36-year-old Liverpool fan, took his own life after being drawn into illegal gambling websites for betting on football matches. Long passed away in February 2024 in East Sussex, having struggled with a severe gambling addiction, as revealed during the inquest.

Chloe Long, his sister, testified in a coroner’s court that her brother made multiple attempts to quit gambling and had enrolled in GamStop, a self-exclusion program for individuals with online gambling issues. Despite this, he was targeted by unregulated overseas sites, which led him to resume gambling.

The court hearing at East Sussex Coroner’s Court revealed that Long lost his job, his apartment, and his partner of five years due to his gambling habits. His bank statements indicated a staggering loss of £20,000 in April 2023 alone.

Coroner Laura Bradford expressed concern over the lack of awareness regarding the dangers of illegal gambling sites, emphasizing that more could be done to raise awareness of the associated risks.

In her testimony, Chloe Long described the gambling products her brother encountered as detrimental rather than harmless entertainment. “They stripped away Ollie’s enjoyment of the game he loved so much,” she remarked, explaining how these highly addictive systems were designed to exploit vulnerable individuals.

Chloe further explained that Oliver’s gambling was exclusively on football, a sport he was passionate about, particularly as a devoted Liverpool supporter. She noted that an early significant win had a detrimental effect on him, leading to a cycle of addiction.

In the days preceding his death, Long sent farewell messages to his family, indicating the depth of his struggle. In his note, he expressed his decision to end his life due to his gambling addiction, stating he felt unable to escape it and believed it made him a burden.

The hearing revealed that Long had also volunteered as a peer supporter for others affected by gambling. However, he relapsed in April 2023, this time utilizing illegal gambling sites that were not governed by UK regulations and were not blocked by GamStop.

The court learned of a concerning trend labeled “Not on GamStop,” where numerous websites instruct consumers on how to access illegal gambling platforms not regulated by the UK Gambling Commission.

Tim Miller, the executive director of the Gambling Commission, testified that these sites actively target individuals already suffering from gambling-related harm. He highlighted that many of these operations are linked to criminal networks involved in organized crime and terrorism. “Due to our efforts, we have had over 81,000 individual URLs removed from search engines, many of which were associated with ‘not on GamStop’ sites,” Miller added.