A football fan took his own life after his love of the sport fuelled a gambling addiction that led him to bet with illegal offshore operators, a coroner's court has heard. Ollie Long, 36, from Wendover in Buckinghamshire, died in February 2024 after struggling with his addiction for eight years.
In statements read at East Sussex coroner's court in Lewes, Long's sister Chloe described him as 'endlessly kind' and said his gambling began through his passion for football. He initially won £15,000 through a sign-up offer but later turned to 'highly addictive, predatory systems designed to exploit'. The court heard he used illegal offshore operators that target UK consumers who have signed up to the self-exclusion scheme GamStop, promoting themselves as 'Not on GamStop'.
Tim Miller, executive director of research and policy at the Gambling Commission, told the court that some of those sites were run by 'sophisticated international criminal networks'. He criticised Meta, owner of Facebook and Instagram, for failing to remove adverts for such sites without being requested. Long's family said gambling had 'altered his perception of himself' and made him believe he was 'better off dead'.
The court heard Long had a history of anxiety, depression and cannabis use, but a psychiatric report described the drug use as secondary to gambling. Senior coroner Laura Bradford concluded the cause of death was multiple injuries and suicide, declining the family's request to list gambling as a cause. She said more could be done to highlight risks of illegal gambling sites and would send a report to government departments.
Long began betting with licensed bookmakers like Bet365 and SkyBet, but after signing up to GamStop, he placed over 50 bets with illicit online casinos via payment providers in Stockholm and Lagos. Unlicensed gambling firms are estimated to take billions of pounds in UK bets annually through easily available online brands.
