Gambler appeals over £2m losses

A compulsive gambler has gone to the Court of Appeal in the latest round of his battle to force bookmaker William Hill to repay his £2m losses.

Greyhound trainer Graham Calvert, 28, of Houghton-le-Spring, near Sunderland told the High Court in February the company failed in its "duty of care".

The judge agreed, but ruled William Hill was not liable for the losses.

Mr Calvert's QC said on Thursday that, on the facts found by the High Court judge, his client should have won.

Simon Browne-Wilkinson QC said the judge was wrong to dismiss Mr Calvert's case on the grounds that his pathological gambling would still have led to his financial ruin, so William Hill did not cause him any financial or other loss.

He said: "The judge accepted that William Hill owed a duty of care to the claimant following the self-exclusion policy and it breached that duty of care by allowing telephone betting.

"He also found that but for that breach, losses sustained by the claimant of nearly £2m would not have been sustained.

"We say that if the judge had applied the correct principles of law, the findings were such, subject to the question of contributory negligence, to establish that my client's claim succeeded."

The case is being followed by other bookmakers concerned that a successful claim would open the way for similar actions.

Mr Calvert has said he had lost not only money, but also his wife, health and livelihood.

The case continues.

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