Bereaved Mum Backs Calls For Gambling Regulation

4 February 2026
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Helen CattPolitical Editor, BBC South East


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


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


She stated it had actually taken her lots of years to comprehend that addiction suggested "the onus wasn't all on him" to stop betting.


The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), the main market body, said the "frustrating bulk" of people who bet do so "securely and properly".


'All gone'


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


He also loved football, typically betting on matches.


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


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


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


Wade stated: "He rang me up and asked me if I could 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 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 help but, in 2014, he took his own life.


After her son's death, Wade discovered a number of e-mails from betting companies using rewards such as funded journeys to see his preferred football team.


She said: "I found that he had a deal of a free bet for ₤ 1,000 and I thought we 'd barred him from all the websites. There were lots of e-mails however that's the one that truly stuck out."


Public health concern


Wade later fulfilled Sittingbourne and Sheppey MP Kevin McKenna, who has considering that made campaigning on betting harms a priority.


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


McKenna stated there were about 500 deaths by suicide associated to gambling a year in the country.


"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 specific responsibility to identifying it as a risk to the wider population as a whole.


Treating it as a public health issue could consist of actions like higher guideline of betting advertising and getting rid of the most addicting items.


The Betting and Gaming Council said the "overwhelming majority" of the 22.5 million individuals who bet in Britain did so "securely" and "responsibly".


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


The Conservative federal government introduced an evaluation of gambling guideline in 2023.


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


A federal government spokesperson stated it was "acutely conscious" of the impact harmful betting can have and stated it was "devoted to reinforcing securities to safeguard those at risk".


It introduced the statutory betting levy which it described as a "major positive action".


This places an obligatory charge on licensed gambling operators which will be utilized to money assistance and research 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 families, and campaigns to reform betting laws.


Chair Charles Ritchie said the majority of its members had lost someone "really regular, pleased, popular" who had actually "gotten in into betting believing it was a little bit of enjoyable".


"That's what we're all informed and then when you enter into difficulty you're efficiently informed it's your fault and families hear that too," he said.


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


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