Bereaved Mum Backs Calls For Gambling Regulation

4 February 2026
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Helen CattPolitical Editor, BBC South East


A mom whose kid took his own life after ending up being addicted to betting is backing calls from MPs to treat the habit as a threat.


Lesley Wade, from Minster on the Isle of Sheppey, lost her "household orientated" and "fun" child Aaron Armstrong aged 30 in 2014.


She stated it had actually taken her several years to comprehend that addiction meant "the onus wasn't all on him" to stop gambling.


The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), the main market body, said the "overwhelming bulk" of individuals who gamble do so "safely and properly".


'All gone'


Armstrong, who worked as a scaffolder, played in a swimming pool league and was a keen golfer.


He also liked football, typically banking on matches.


She said her kid significantly started to ask her for cash in 2013.


"I hadn't confessed to myself the quantity of cash he was asking me for at various times," she stated.


She recalled one celebration when it was his turn to pay for a Friday morning breakfast he frequently had with friends.


Wade said: "He rang me up and asked me if I might move some money to spend for the breakfast.


"He 'd just been paid that early morning and he had no money in his account. It was all gone."


She said she now believes he had been resting on the scaffolding, betting on his phone.


Armstrong's relationship with his partner broke down and he was asked to leave his flat.


The scaffolder went on to seek help but, in 2014, he took his own life.


After her child's death, Wade discovered a variety of emails from gambling companies providing incentives such as financed journeys to see his preferred football group.


She stated: "I found that he had a deal of a complimentary bet for ₤ 1,000 and I thought we 'd disallowed him from all the websites. There were lots of e-mails but that's the one that truly stood out."


Public health concern


Wade later on fulfilled Sittingbourne and Sheppey MP Kevin McKenna, who has actually considering that made marketing on gambling damages a top priority.


He is now one of a variety of MPs, including Worthing West's Dr Beccy Cooper, who are marketing for a modification in how society - and the federal government - techniques gambling.


McKenna said there had to do with 500 deaths by suicide associated to gambling a year in the nation.


"If it was anything else we 'd be taking a look at it as a public health problem," he added.


It would move the focus from individual duty to acknowledging it as a risk to the broader population as a whole.


Treating it as a public health problem could consist of actions like greater regulation of betting advertising and removing the most addictive products.


The Betting and Gaming Council stated the "frustrating bulk" of the 22.5 million people who bet in Britain did so "safely" and "properly".


According to a Gaming Commission report in 2024, Gambling Survey for Great Britain, 2.7% of grownups stated they had a gaming issue.


The Conservative government launched a review of betting guideline in 2023.


In 2025, the Gambling Commission provided people the right to more control over the direct marketing they receive from betting firms and presented optimal stakes on online fruit machine.


A federal government spokesperson said it was "acutely mindful" of the effect harmful betting can have and stated it was "committed to strengthening defenses to protect those at threat".


It presented the statutory gaming levy which it described as a "significant favorable step".


This positions a mandatory charge on certified gambling operators which will be utilized to fund support and research into betting addiction.


'Little fun'


Wade is now part of Gambling With Lives, a group formed by other bereaved parents that uses support to families, and projects to reform gambling laws.


Chair Charles Ritchie stated most of its members had actually lost someone "extremely normal, delighted, popular" who had actually "participated in betting believing it was a little fun".


"That's what we're all informed and then when you get into problem you're successfully informed it's your fault and families hear that also," he said.


He implicated the market of promoting a narrative that it is "something incorrect with the person, a weakness or flaw in their character".


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