Bereaved Mum Backs Require Gambling Regulation

4 February 2026
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Helen CattPolitical Editor, BBC South East


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


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


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


The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), the primary industry body, said the "frustrating bulk" of people who gamble do so "securely and responsibly".


'All gone'


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


He likewise enjoyed football, frequently betting on matches.


She said her child increasingly started to ask her for money in 2013.


"I hadn't admitted to myself the quantity of cash 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 routinely had with good friends.


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


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


She stated she now believes he had actually been resting 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 child's death, Wade discovered a variety of emails from betting companies providing incentives such as funded journeys to see his preferred football group.


She stated: "I discovered 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 emails however that's the one that truly stuck out."


Public health issue


Wade later on fulfilled Sittingbourne and Sheppey MP Kevin McKenna, who has because made marketing on betting harms a concern.


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


McKenna said there were about 500 deaths by suicide associated 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 added.


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


Treating it as a public health problem could consist of actions like greater guideline of gambling marketing and eliminating the most addictive items.


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


According to a Betting Commission report in 2024, Gambling Survey for Great Britain, 2.7% of adults stated they had a betting issue.


The Conservative government released an evaluation of gambling regulation 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 maximum stakes on online slots.


A government representative said it was "acutely conscious" of the effect harmful betting can have and said it was "devoted to enhancing protections to safeguard those at danger".


It presented the statutory gaming levy which it referred to as a "significant positive step".


This places a mandatory charge on licensed betting operators which will be utilized to money support and research study into betting addiction.


'Little bit of enjoyable'


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


Chair Charles Ritchie stated many of its members had actually lost somebody "really typical, happy, popular" who had actually "participated in betting believing it was a little fun".


"That's what we're all informed and after that when you get into trouble you're successfully informed it's your fault and households hear that as well," he said.


He implicated the industry of promoting a narrative that it is "something wrong with the individual, a weak point or defect in their character".


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