Gambling addict sues bookie for £2.1m losses

Published on Thursday 14 February 2008 21:08

A GAMBLING addict who claims he told a bookmaker to stop taking his bets is suing the firm for losses of £2.1 million.

Graham Calvert, 28, wants William Hill to pay back the money on the grounds that they failed in their duty of care.

Mr Calvert, a greyhound trainer, says the company allowed him to place bets when he had twice asked it to close his account and stop accepting his bets – a process called "self-exclusion".

He claims William Hill allowed him to open two new accounts and make bets of about 3.5 million between June and December 2006. During that period, he lost a total of 2.1 million.

He lost some 347,000 in one bet alone when he backed the United States to win the 2006 Ryder Cup.

Mr Calvert, from Tyne and Wear, told the BBC he felt the onus was on William Hill to prevent him from gambling. "If I'd known I had the problem and didn't do anything about it, I would see myself as being 100 per cent responsible," he said. "The fact is that I did try to go through the right procedures and I was let down."

The case is due to begin at the High Court in London next week, and Peter Hornsey, the head of Mr Calvert's legal team, said it was a crucial test of the industry's social-responsibility policies. "This case is important not just on a personal level for Mr Calvert but also for the betting industry as a whole," he said.

"It goes to the issue of how bookmakers treat people who have gambling problems via their self-exclusion policy and whether they can be held responsible when they advertise themselves as offering self-exclusion and promoting socially responsible gambling.

"For whatever reason, William Hill failed to operate its self-exclusion policy, with disastrous consequences for our client, despite knowing that he had a gambling problem, and we argue they should be held responsible for that."

Graham Sharpe, the media relations manager for William Hill, did not want to comment on the particulars of the claim, but he said: "We will be contesting the case vigorously."

Mr Calvert's solicitors said the greyhound trainer had now lost his licence, and his marriage had broken down as a result of his gambling problems.

The Responsibility in Gambling Trust, a charity set up to tackle problem gambling in Britain, said last night that it was looking at developing a national database of gamblers who "self-exclude", which would be available to all betting firms.

Ron Finlay, a spokesman, said he understood the current system allowed individuals who asked to be barred from betting at one shop to continue gambling at other outlets. He said: "What we are looking at is a proposal which would allow a database to be established, so that someone who registers in one place can have their details automatically passed on elsewhere, so they can be prevented from gambling anywhere."

Mr Finlay said the proposal was still in its "very early stages", but he added: "It's in the interests of the industry to have problem gambling minimised."

HOUSING CHIEF FACES JAIL FOR 100,000 CON

A HOUSING chief who "bullied" vulnerable tenants out of more than 100,000 to fund her gambling addiction was yesterday warned that jail was almost inevitable.

Between 2003 and 2006, Jeanette Harris lied to both the "socially needy" and key workers, such as firefighters and nurses, to pocket money they could ill afford. The 50-year-old grandmother, who worked for the Crown Estate Commissioners, first told her victims they needed to pay deposits to secure the scarce accommodation. She then insisted they had to pay their rent in cash and falsified records to cover her crimes.

Southwark Crown Court, London, heard that inquires revealed

19 people were conned out of a total of 63,721.

But her former employers believe she targeted up to 50 people and pocketed more than 100,000.

Adjourning sentencing until next month, Judge Geoffrey Rivlin, QC, told Harris:

"The only appropriate sentence, in my view, is custodial."