Call for UK gambling reform after ‘generous and caring’ woman takes her own life

Ellen Mulvey, who struggled with a chronic gambling addiction, ‘always put other people first’, according to her partner, Deanne Tomkins.View image in fullscreenEllen Mulvey, who struggled with a chronic gambling addiction, ‘always put other people first’, according to her partner, Deanne Tomkins.GamblingCall for UK gambling reform after ‘generous and caring’ woman takes her own lifeEllen Mulvey ran up huge betting losses online and wrote ‘addiction is the worst disease’ before she diedMark Brown North of England correspondentMon 27 Apr 2026 14.15 EDTLast modified on Mon 27 Apr 2026 15.54 EDTSharePrefer the Guardian on GoogleA family is calling for wholesale reform of the gambling industry after an inquest heard details of the life and death of Ellen Mulvey, a “generous and caring” woman with a high-flying City job who also had a secret addiction.Mulvey’s family believe she lost hundreds of thousands of pounds gambling without their knowledge, first via mainstream operators and then on unlicensed platforms.An inquest heard that the 44-year-old took her own life and was declared dead at Macclesfield district general hospital on 7 November. Before she died, Mulvey wrote a note saying: “Addiction is the worst disease ever.”At work, Mulvey was the managing director of a global financial recruitment firm based in London. Nevertheless, gambling caused her to struggle financially.Family members believe her chronic addiction began in 2018, based on her bank statements, and blame it for the deterioration of her mental health.Speaking to the Guardian, Mulvey’s sister Katie Styring called her “the most generous, caring, kind person”. Mulvey’s partner, Deanne Tomkins, said she was someone who “always put other people first … it didn’t matter what she was going through”.Both expressed their anger at the psychological damage wreaked by gambling, whether licensed or unlicensed.Styring said Mulvey had always been protective of her when they were growing up. “She wound us up, no end, but she always had our back if there was ever any trouble. If somebody upset me, there was no stopping her, she would find this fierce protector inside her.“That’s how she was when she was a mentor to people – she had their back and she wanted the very best for them.”This carried through to her job, where she was a committed advocate for diversity. InterInvest, a national network championing LGBTQ+ concerns across the UK investment industry, called Mulvey a “remarkable ally, leader and friend” and has created an award in her name.View image in fullscreenEllen Mulvey ‘loved fun’ and had ‘so much love to give’, her family said. Photograph: PAStyring said her sister “loved fun” and was always the last person to leave a party. “She’d be the one that’s getting everyone up on the dancefloor.”At home, Mulvey was the “proud” stepmother to her partner’s four-year-old son. “She was just so patient, understanding and playful,” Tomkins said. “She had so much love to give.”Describing their life together, Tomkins recalled Mulvey’s batch-cooking of family meals, and how she and her train-loving son would pick Mulvey up from the railway station every Thursday at the end of her working week in London.“At weekends, it didn’t matter how tired she was, she would make sure that we came first. She prioritised family evenings, family days out … beaches, swimming, walks.”The inquest heard Mulvey registered with Gamstop in 2022. The gambling self-exclusion scheme stops customers from accessing all…

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