Coroner urges UK to bring National Lottery under GAMSTOP after father's death

A coroner in England has called for the UK National Lottery to be brought within the national self-exclusion system after an inquest into the death of a man who gambled heavily on lottery games.

Stephen Goff, 54, died at his flat in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, on August 18, 2025, according to the inquest. The hearing was told that he took his own life after spending heavily on the lottery. Reports on the case state that he had spent the money in his bank account on lottery play after he had excluded himself from other forms of gambling.

The senior coroner for Bedfordshire and Luton, Emma Whitting, noted that National Lottery draws are not covered by GAMSTOP. The scheme is the national self-exclusion programme that blocks access to licensed gambling services such as sports betting and online casino. Whitting has sent a Prevention of Future Deaths report to the UK Gambling Commission and to GAMSTOP in order to raise awareness of the case and the circumstances behind it.

A spokesperson for the Gambling Commission said that National Lottery draw-based games are generally lower risk compared with other gambling products. The regulator added that it will consider the potential for further changes, including the possibility of extending the scope of GAMSTOP in some form. The Commission has said it is already in discussions with Allwyn, the operator of the National Lottery, and with GAMSTOP to determine whether additional consumer protections are needed.

Goff's daughter, Freya Goff, has said the National Lottery should be added to the services blocked under GAMSTOP, describing its absence from the scheme as a glaring omission.

The case raises questions about how self-exclusion tools apply to lottery products, which are often treated separately from other gambling categories in regulation and risk assessment. Any decision on widening GAMSTOP's coverage would rest with the regulator and the parties it is consulting.