Kyle Hudson opened his first online betting account on his 18th birthday.
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Hudson → open → birthday
His death four years later should be a 'clear signal' that national gambling reform is needed, a coroner has said.
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coroner → need → ?
'Kyle's case reveals ... the human cost of online gambling,' Victorian coroner Paul Lawrie said in findings handed down on Tuesday.
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Lawrie → reveal → Tuesday
'(His death) should be a clear signal that we cannot leave monitoring and intervention solely in the hands of the betting companies.
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we → leave → companies
'
Mr Hudson had lost close to $50,000 when he died by suicide at his Werribee home in Melbourne's southwest on July 6, 2021.
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he → lose → July
He was newly 18 when he opened his first Sportsbet account, before also creating accounts with Ladbrokes, Neds, Bookmaker and bet365.
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he → open → Ladbrokes
In the four years before he died, Mr Hudson placed 8585 bets across the various accounts and lost $47,945.
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Hudson → die → 47,945
His two final bets were placed in the 12 hours before he died.
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he → place → hours
Kyle Hudson (above) opened his first online betting account on his 18th birthday and placed his two final bets in the 12 hours before he died
At 12.53am on July 6, Mr Hudson used his bet365 account to place a $5000 bet on a women's basketball match, which he lost at 10.41am.
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he → open → 10.41am
He then placed a second bet of $1300 at 10.43am but he lost that too.
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he → place → that
Minutes after the loss, Mr Hudson did an online search on how to die by suicide.
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Hudson → do → suicide
He took his own life a short time later.
Mr Lawrie found Mr Hudson was a problem gambler and he was suffering from gambling harm before he died.
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he → take → harm
'Kyle's online gambling was the direct and paramount causative fact underlying his decision to take his own life,' the coroner found.
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coroner → underlie → life
Mr Hudson's gambling triggered the betting agencies to contact him about safer betting, including by suspending his account.
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gambling → trigger → account
Sportsbet locked his account eight times but it was reactivated after Mr Hudson spoke to a person on the phone and advised he was betting within his limits.
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he → lock → limits
Mr Hudson (above) took his own life on July 6, 2021, after losing close to $50,000 to gambling
The coroner was critical of those measures, saying they were reliant on a customer's answers instead of the complete picture.
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they → take → answers
'None of the communications or interventions directed to Kyle had any meaningful effect,' the coroner said.
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coroner → direct → effect
He was also critical of Sportsbet's submissions at inquest that there was no indication Mr Hudson had been a problem gambler.
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Hudson → be → inquest
'It is chilling that this is Sportsbet's view,' the coroner said.
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coroner → say → ?
'The analysis of Kyle's betting activity presents a startling picture of a young man whose life after age 18 was dominated by online gambling.'
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life → present → gambling
Mr Lawrie made nine recommendations, including for the federal government to establish a national online gambling regulator.
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government → make → regulator
The regulator would be responsible for licensing betting companies, overseeing a national data vault and introducing standardised player protection tools.
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regulator → license → tools
Independent Senator David Pocock welcomed the coroner's 'sensible' recommendations.
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Pocock → welcome → recommendations
Independent Senator David Pocock (above) called on the government to heed the coroner's 'sensible' recommendations
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Pocock → call → recommendations
We would lose fewer young men to suicide as a result of gambling addiction if we had a full ban on gambling advertising and inducements, and a resourced national regulator,' he told AAP.
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he → lose → AAP
'Stories like this are so tragic, even more so because they are also preventable.'
Sportsbet said it would take time to consider the findings while noting 'no words' would be of comfort to the Hudson family.
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words → say → family
'Sportsbet acknowledges there is more to do and we remain committed to continually strengthening consumer protections,' the betting agency said.
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agency → acknowledge → protections
Entain - which operates the Ladbrokes, Neds and Bookmaker brands - and bet365 echoed that sentiment.
'Bet365 is constantly striving for the highest safer gambling standards,' its spokesperson said.
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spokesperson → operate → standards
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