Sheffield family 'betrayed' over gambling death case

The family of a gambler who killed himself after losing £30,000 say they feel "betrayed" following an investigation into his death.

Chris Bruney, 25, died after being given VIP status by a gambling firm that did not check he could afford it.

The Gambling Commission (GC) said PT Entertainment Services could have faced a fine of at least £3.5m.

But it did not have to pay out after surrendering its operating licence during the inquiry, the GC said.

Parent company Playtech has pledged to donate £5m to charities over the next five years as part of a strategy to promote better online health.

In a statement, Mr Bruney's family said: "We found the courage to start this investigation and our trust has been betrayed.

"We want answers as to how the Gambling Commission allowed the company to close down before there were regulatory actions.

"We want Playtech to pay the proper fine of £3.5m and for individuals to be held to account."

The GC said it would be opening a consultation to make permanent changes to the way "operators recruit and incentivise high value customers".

Charity Gambling with Lives said Mr Bruney, of Sheffield, had been "groomed by VIP schemes to gamble intensively despite showing clear indications of gambling disorder".

The organisation, which supports families who have been bereaved by gambling-related suicide, called for VIP schemes to be banned.

Shortly before his death in April 2017, Mr Bruney gambled away £119,395 with the company failing to verify whether he could afford to play.

Mr Bruney's accounts showed he had a net loss of £34,068, when they were closed following his suicide.

The GC investigation found the company gave "no consideration" to problem gambling checks.

The commission's chief executive Neil McArthur, said: "Although PT Entertainment Services has ceased trading we decided to complete our investigation and publish our findings, as the lessons from this tragic case must be learned by all operators.

"Our investigations into the role played by key individuals at PT Entertainment Services are continuing. As such, it would be inappropriate to say more about the specific case at this time."

Playtech said the decision to close the two websites used by Mr Bruney - winner.co.uk and titanbet.co.uk - was taken before it was notified of the investigation.

It said PT Entertainment Services's licence had already been due to expire in October 2019. That same month, the company donated about £620,000 to charity.

A Playtech spokesman said the company had since "invested significantly" to ensure similar breaches do not occur again.

He said: "PT Entertainment Services' actions fell significantly short of the high standards we set ourselves as a group."

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