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 becoming addicted to gaming is backing calls from MPs to deal with the habit 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 stated it had 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 industry body, said the "overwhelming majority" of individuals who gamble do so "securely and responsibly".


'All gone'


Armstrong, who worked as a scaffolder, played in a pool league and was an eager golfer.


He likewise liked football, frequently betting on matches.


She stated her kid progressively started to ask her for money in 2013.


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


She remembered one celebration when it was his turn to pay for a Friday early morning breakfast he had with pals.


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


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


She stated she now thinks he had actually 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 assistance however, in 2014, he took his own life.


After her kid's death, Wade discovered a variety of emails from betting firms using rewards such as financed trips to see his preferred football group.


She stated: "I found that he had a deal of a totally free bet for ₤ 1,000 and I believed we 'd barred him from all the websites. There were great deals of e-mails however that's the one that actually protruded."


Public health concern


Wade later on met Sittingbourne and Sheppey MP Kevin McKenna, who has actually given that made marketing on gambling harms a priority.


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


McKenna stated there were about 500 deaths by suicide related to betting a year in the nation.


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


It would move the focus from specific obligation to acknowledging it as a danger to the broader population as a whole.


Treating it as a public health concern might include actions like higher guideline of gambling advertising and removing the most addicting products.


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


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


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


A government representative said it was "acutely aware" of the impact damaging gambling can have and stated it was "dedicated to strengthening defenses to safeguard those at risk".


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


This positions a mandatory charge on licensed betting operators which will be utilized to fund assistance and research study into gambling dependency.


'Bit of fun'


Wade is now part of Gambling With Lives, a group formed by other bereaved moms and dads that offers support to families, and campaigns to reform betting laws.


Chair Charles Ritchie stated most of its members had lost somebody "extremely typical, delighted, popular" who had actually "entered into betting believing it was a bit of fun".


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


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


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