Jack Ritchie inquest: hearing will look at role gambling played in Sheffield man's death

Jack Ritchie died in Hanoi, Vietnam, on November 22, 2017.

He had been living there for around three months teaching English as a foreign language and before that, Jack lived in Sheffield, where he grew up.

According to his family, on the day of his death, Jack had been gambling all day and had e-mailed his parents and posted on Facebook to indicate that he planned to end his life.

The Department of Media Culture and Sport (DCMS), The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC), the Gambling Commission, GambleAware and GamCare have been named as ‘Interested Persons’ by the coroner and the inquest into Jack’s death will hear evidence about the information and treatment available to him, as well as the regulation of gambling at the relevant time.

Jack’s parents, Liz and Charles Ritchie, believe that public health information about the risks of gambling products, a diagnosis of gambling disorder, followed by evidence-based treatment, would have prevented his death.

Jack began gambling at 17 when he and a group of school friends gambled on fixed odds betting terminals during their school lunch hour before he progressed to online betting.

Following the death of their son, Liz and Charles set up Gambling With Lives, a support charity which is working to raise understanding and awareness of gambling disorder, to reduce gambling harm, and to improve regulation of the gambling industry in the UK.