No Love for William Hill This Valentine's Day as Gambler Sues Over Losses

28-year old Graham Calvert claims he asked that William Hill close his betting account on the basis that he was "a gambling addict" and betting over the telephone had become "too easy".

Despite this plea, Mr. Calvert claims that William Hill continued to entice him into gambling against his will. 

The BBC says: “Regardless of Mr Calvert's big time gambling past his legal team claim that William Hill were negligent in allowing him to continue to gamble after agreeing that he would be self-excluded and that they should be held responsible for the consequences.” Hills will contest the charge vigorously, the report said.

Calvert eventually went on to lose £2 million, including a single bet of £347,000 on America to win golf’s Ryder Cup.

Mr Calvert, a successful greyhound trainer who once earned £30,000 a week, said the betting company had failed in its duty of care to him as a customer and blamed them for him having "lost everything", according to a report appearing in the London Telegraph.

He said: "I was one of the top fifteen greyhound trainers in the country. But now I’ve lost everything. I’ve had to give up the business.

"The pressure broke up my marriage and I had to move out of my family home and am living back with my mum.

"This has had a terrible effect on me, and my family. I think it was irresponsible of William Hill exploit me the way they did. It has ruined my life. It was like taking heroin.

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"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.

"The fact is that I did try to go through the right procedures and I was let down."

He is expected to present evidence of a recorded telephone conversation with a William Hill employee in which, when asking to be banned, he is allegedly told he will not be able to have another account with them for six months, but did so two months later. He currently owes £1.5 million.

His solicitor, Peter Hornsey, said: "This case is important not just on a personal level for Mr Calvert but also for the betting industry as a whole.

"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 that they should be held responsible for that."

The case opens at the High Court next week. William Hill said it will contest the allegations "vigorously".
 

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Christopher Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher CCostigan@CostiganMedia.com

Originally