Death of Father Spurs Calls for UK National Lottery to be Added to Exclusion List

The death of a father who took his life after gambling excessively on the lottery has prompted a call from a coroner to have the National Lottery in the United Kingdom added to the list of websites and services that people are excluded from when opting out of gambling. Man Who Spent His Banking Account on Lottery Leads to Calls for Exclusion from the Lottery The father, Stephen Goff, 54, died in his flat in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, on August 18, 2025; an inquest looking into the circumstances of his death was told. The senior coroner for Bedfordshire and Luton, Emma Whitting, also noted that the National Lottery draws were not covered by GAMSTOP, the national self-exclusion program that bars access to licensed gambling services such as sports betting and casino. Whitting has already acted on her own, sending the report of the case to the Prevention of Future Death (PFD) report and to the UK Gambling Commission and GAMSTOP, in a bid to raise awareness about Goff’s case and the circumstances that led to the tragic outcome. The UKGC has said through a spokesperson that: “Although National Lottery draw-based games are generally lower risk when compared against other gambling products, we will consider the potential for further changes, including the possibility of extending the scope of Gamstop in some form.” The UKGC has noted that it is already in talks with Allwyn, which operates the National Lottery, as well as GAMSTOP, to determine whether there is a need for further consumer protections. Goff spent his bank account on the lottery, following his exclusion from gambling. Freya Geoff, Geoff’s daughter, has said that the National Lottery should be added to the list of blocked websites under GAMSTOP and that the fact it has not been was a glaring omission.