Bereaved Mum Backs Require 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 is backing calls from MPs to deal with the routine as a public health danger.


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


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


The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), the main market body, stated the "frustrating 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 likewise liked football, frequently banking on matches.


She said her boy increasingly began to ask her for money in 2013.


"I had not admitted to myself the quantity of cash he was asking me for at various times," she stated.


She recalled one event when it was his turn to spend for a Friday morning breakfast he routinely had with friends.


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


"He 'd just 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 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 seek assistance but, in 2014, he took his own life.


After her boy's death, Wade discovered a variety of e-mails from betting companies providing incentives such as financed trips to see his preferred football team.


She stated: "I discovered that he had an offer of a complimentary bet for ₤ 1,000 and I thought we 'd barred him from all the sites. There were great deals of emails but that's the one that actually protruded."


Public health concern


Wade later fulfilled Sittingbourne and Sheppey MP Kevin McKenna, who has actually since made marketing on betting damages a concern.


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


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


"If it was anything else we 'd be looking at it as a public health concern," he included.


It would shift the focus from specific responsibility to identifying it as a risk to the larger population as a whole.


Treating it as a public health concern could include actions like greater policy of gambling marketing and removing the most addictive products.


The Betting and Gaming Council said the "frustrating majority" of the 22.5 million people who wager in Britain did so "securely" and "responsibly".


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


The Conservative federal government introduced a review of gambling policy in 2023.


In 2025, the Gambling Commission gave people the right to more control over the direct marketing they get from betting firms and introduced maximum stakes on online slots.


A federal government spokesperson said it was "acutely aware" of the effect hazardous betting can have and said it was "committed to reinforcing securities to secure those at threat".


It introduced the statutory gaming levy which it referred to as a "major favorable step".


This puts a compulsory charge on certified betting operators which will be used to fund support and research into gambling addiction.


'Little bit of enjoyable'


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


Chair Charles Ritchie stated the majority of its members had actually lost somebody "very regular, happy, popular" who had "participated in betting thinking it was a little enjoyable".


"That's what we're all told and then when you enter into trouble you're efficiently informed it's your fault and households hear that also," he stated.


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


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