Jack Ritchie dying: gambling addiction commenced as teen, inquest hears

A 24-calendar year-previous English teacher made a chronic gambling addiction that commenced with betting little amounts on controversial fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) when he was in the sixth variety, an inquest into his loss of life has heard.

Jack Ritchie, a Hull college history graduate, took his own lifetime whilst educating English in Hanoi, Vietnam, in November 2017.

His moms and dads, Charles and Liz Ritchie, from Sheffield, argue that government failures contributed to their son’s loss of life in that he was hooked on “products certified by the state”.

The inquest inspecting Ritchie’s death is thought by his dad and mom to be the initial so-named short article 2 inquest in a scenario relating to suicide after gambling. That implies its scope will include things like an assessment of no matter whether any arm of the state breached its obligation to safeguard their son’s ideal to life.

On Monday, the opening day, a witness statement from Ritchie’s childhood close friend Nick Clough was browse. He described heading with Ritchie to betting outlets when they ended up aged 16 or 17 and shelling out smaller amounts on the equipment. Ritchie’s intention was to double his funds “to get a absolutely free lunch”.

But he included: “With Jack it grew to become much more than that.”

A set off moment was when Ritchie won £1,000 in a lot less than 30 seconds, a earn that changed his mindset to gambling as he started chasing his losses and searching for the significant win.

Other witness proof study to the inquest explained how no one particular had realised the extent of Ritchie’s complications until eventually he had taken his very own everyday living.

Forensic evidence offered to the inquest confirmed he was a frequent visitor to the BetVictor on the internet gambling web site in the days major up to his demise.

The inquest at Sheffield city corridor opened with a online video montage of joyful times from Ritchie’s lifetime.

His father explained him as a “fine youthful man on the threshold of his life” who “brightened the lives of everybody all-around him”.

Charles and Liz Ritchie have campaigned for reform of gambling laws as a result of a charity, Gambling With Lives, that they helped established up.

The pair believe that an undiagnosed gambling dysfunction lay driving their son’s dying and argue there have been no public wellness warnings about the chance to existence posed by gambling goods. Their son was not identified or supplied cure that joined his signs to gambling disorder, they say.

The coroner David Urpeth claimed the evidence at the listening to, envisioned to very last two months, would cover topics which includes what information was out there to Ritchie and his family about the pitfalls of gambling and also what professional medical procedure was available to him.

Urpeth reported that his assessment of how Ritchie died would contain “whether gambling triggered or contributed to his death”.

The coroner said he comprehended that the household wanted the scope of the inquest to be an even broader analysis of federal government gambling coverage and informed them: “I do not want the loved ones to consider I am disinterested in their wider worries. It is just that these kinds of problems are outside of the ability invested in me.”

Officials from the Gambling Commission and the Office of Health and fitness and Social Care and Department for Electronic, Tradition, Media and Activity are among the those envisioned to give evidence at the inquest.

Charles Ritchie beforehand told the Guardian that he had learned his son’s dependancy when he was 18. He instantly took him into every single betting store in Sheffield, where by Jack Ritchie remaining a photograph and signed a kind that would exclude him from placing bets there. But his dependancy just transferred online.

• In the British isles and Eire, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or e mail jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the disaster assistance support Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other intercontinental helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org.

• Anybody concerned about their gambling, or that of a cherished a person, can pay a visit to BeGambleAware.org for free, confidential suggestions and help. The Countrywide Gambling Helpline is obtainable on 0808 8020 133 and operates 24 hours a working day, 7 days a 7 days.