Coroner Urges National Lottery To Join GAMSTOP
A coroner has told the Gambling Commission that people who self-exclude through GAMSTOP can still gamble online with the National Lottery Draw, after the death of a man from Leighton Buzzard who struggled with a gambling addiction.
Emma Whitting, senior coroner for Bedfordshire and Luton, sent a Prevention of Future Deaths report to the Gambling Commission and to GAMSTOP following the inquest into the death of Steve Goff, 54, who took his own life in August 2025.
The inquest, held at Bedfordshire and Luton Coroner's Court on July 7, 2026, concluded that Goff's death was caused by Gambling Disorder and gambling with licensed and unlicensed operators.
A Gap GAMSTOP Doesn't Cover
Goff had signed up to GAMSTOP, the UK's multi-operator self-exclusion scheme, in 2018 and again in 2024 to bar himself from online gambling with licensed operators. Despite that, he continued to gamble online, both with unlicensed operators and with National Lottery draw products, which GAMSTOP does not cover.
The National Lottery licence instead requires a separate, standalone self-exclusion process. The final payment from Goff's bank account, two days before his death, was made to the National Lottery Draw.
In her report, Whitting raised a direct concern: "By not including online gambling with the National Lottery Draw in the GAMSTOP scheme, there is a risk that consumers having self-excluded via GAMSTOP will still gamble online with the National Lottery Draw." Recipients of a Prevention of Future Deaths report must respond in writing within 56 days.
Regulator And Operator Response
The Gambling Commission said it has been engaging with GAMSTOP and National Lottery operator Allwyn since the inquest "to consider what more could be done to increase consumer protections", including the possibility of extending GAMSTOP's scope "in some form". A discovery phase into the issue is under way and is expected to conclude within 12 months, ahead of any decision on further action.
The Commission noted that National Lottery draw-based games are "generally lower-risk products relative to other gambling activities" and that consumers can already self-exclude from all online National Lottery games directly with the operator.
A spokeswoman for Allwyn UK said some National Lottery products, including online instant win games, are already covered by GAMSTOP, but draw games are not, and that players can self-exclude from draw-based games separately through their online account.
GAMSTOP chief executive Fiona Palmer acknowledged the gap identified in the coroner's report, confirming that while National Lottery online instant games fall under the scheme, draw games currently sit outside it.
