Betfair algorithm misses gambling addict red flags

An inquest revealed that an algorithm failed to identify the gambling addiction of Luke Ashton, who took his own life in April 2021 after accumulating significant debts . Luke Ashton, from Leicester, UK, was first offered a free bet by gambling company Betfair and died after gambling over 100 times a day and building up debts of GBP 18,000. Ashton's lawyer said the company relied on a machine learning algorithm that daily analysed 277 elements of its customers' betting activities to detect problem gamblers who would then be telephoned by its player protection team. He also said that Ashton had 'self-excluded' himself as high-risk on occasions in 2013, 2014 and 2016. Richard Clarke, managing director of customer relations for Betfair parent company Flutter UKI told the court that Mr Ashton had been sent eight automated and generic 'awareness' emails by the company. However, coroner Ivan Cartwright concluded Betfair's algorithm had failed to recognise Ashton's gambling behaviour as problematic and that the company had failed to meaningfully interact or intervene when Mr Ashton's gambling activity spiked. System 🤖 Betfair 🔗 Operator: Flutter UKI/Betfair Developer: Country: UK Sector: Gambling Purpose: Detect customer risk; Track customer data Technology: Machine learning Issue: Accountability; Accuracy/reliability; Safety Legal, regulatory 👩🏼‍⚖️ Leigh Day (2023). Coroner concludes Luke Ashton died as a result of gambling disorder and a lack of meaningful intervention from Betfair

Date it happened

2021-04-01

Organisation involved

Flutter UKI/Betfair

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