Bereaved Mum Backs Calls For Gambling Regulation

4 February 2026
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Helen CattPolitical Editor, BBC South East


A mother whose kid took his own life after becoming addicted to gambling is backing calls from MPs to treat the practice as a public health danger.


Lesley Wade, from Minster on the Isle of Sheppey, lost her "family orientated" and "enjoyable" boy Aaron Armstrong aged 30 in 2014.


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


The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), the primary industry body, said the "overwhelming bulk" of individuals who bet do so "securely and properly".


'All gone'


Armstrong, who worked as a scaffolder, played in a pool league and was a keen golf enthusiast.


He also loved football, often wagering on matches.


She said her son progressively started to ask her for cash in 2013.


"I had not confessed to myself the quantity of money he was asking me for at different times," she stated.


She remembered one event when it was his turn to pay for a Friday early morning breakfast he frequently had with good friends.


Wade stated: "He rang me up and asked me if I might transfer some money to pay for the breakfast.


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


She said she now believes he had actually been sitting on the scaffolding, gambling on his phone.


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


The scaffolder went on to look for assistance but, in 2014, he took his own life.


After her son's death, Wade found a number of e-mails from gambling companies providing rewards such as funded trips to see his favourite football team.


She stated: "I found that he had a deal of a free bet for ₤ 1,000 and I thought we 'd barred him from all the sites. There were great deals of but that's the one that truly protruded."


Public health issue


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


He is now among a number of MPs, including Worthing West's Dr Beccy Cooper, who are campaigning for a change in how society - and the federal government - methods gambling.


McKenna stated there had to do with 500 deaths by suicide related to betting a year in the nation.


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


It would move the focus from private obligation to identifying it as a threat to the larger population as a whole.


Treating it as a public health issue could consist of actions like greater guideline of betting advertising and eliminating the most addicting products.


The Betting and Gaming Council stated the "overwhelming majority" of the 22.5 million people who bet in Britain did so "securely" and "properly".


According to a Betting Commission report in 2024, Gambling Survey for Great Britain, 2.7% of grownups said they had a gaming problem.


The Conservative federal government released a review of betting guideline in 2023.


In 2025, the Gambling Commission gave individuals the right to more control over the direct marketing they receive from gambling firms and presented optimal stakes on online slot devices.


A government spokesperson stated it was "acutely conscious" of the effect hazardous gaming can have and said it was "devoted to enhancing defenses to safeguard those at danger".


It presented the statutory betting levy which it described as a "major positive step".


This puts a compulsory charge on licensed gambling operators which will be utilized to money assistance and research study into gambling addiction.


'Little bit of enjoyable'


Wade is now part of Gambling With Lives, a group formed by other bereaved parents that provides assistance to households, and campaigns to reform gambling laws.


Chair Charles Ritchie said the majority of its members had lost someone "very regular, pleased, popular" who had "participated in gambling thinking it was a little enjoyable".


"That's what we're all informed and after that when you enter difficulty you're effectively told it's your fault and families hear that too," he stated.


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


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