Bereaved Mum Backs Calls For Gambling Regulation

4 February 2026
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Helen CattPolitical Editor, BBC South East


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


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


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


The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), the primary industry body, said the "frustrating majority" of people who bet do so "safely and responsibly".


'All gone'


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


He likewise enjoyed football, often banking on matches.


She stated her boy progressively started to ask her for cash in 2013.


"I had not confessed 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 pay for a Friday morning breakfast he routinely had with .


Wade said: "He called me up and asked me if I could transfer 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 thinks he had actually been sitting 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 boy's death, Wade discovered a variety of e-mails from gambling firms using rewards such as funded trips to see his favourite football team.


She stated: "I discovered that he had a deal of a totally free bet for ₤ 1,000 and I believed we 'd barred him from all the sites. There were great deals of emails however that's the one that really stood out."


Public health concern


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


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


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


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


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


Treating it as a public health problem could consist of actions like higher policy of betting advertising and getting rid of the most addictive items.


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


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


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


In 2025, the Gambling Commission offered individuals the right to more control over the direct marketing they get from gambling firms and introduced optimal stakes on online slots.


A government representative stated it was "acutely conscious" of the effect harmful betting can have and said it was "devoted to reinforcing defenses to safeguard those at threat".


It introduced the statutory gambling levy which it referred to as a "major positive action".


This positions a necessary charge on licensed betting operators which will be used to fund support and research into gambling addiction.


'Bit of fun'


Wade is now part of Gambling With Lives, a group formed by other bereaved moms and dads that provides assistance to families, and projects to reform gambling laws.


Chair Charles Ritchie said most of its members had actually lost someone "very regular, happy, popular" who had actually "participated in betting believing it was a little enjoyable".


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


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


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