Bereaved Mum Backs Require Gambling Regulation

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4 February 2026
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Helen CattPolitical Editor, BBC South East


A mother whose boy took his own life after ending up being addicted to gaming 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 "household orientated" and "fun" boy Aaron Armstrong aged 30 in 2014.


She stated it had taken her several years to understand that dependency implied "the onus wasn't all on him" to stop betting.


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


'All gone'


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


He likewise loved football, typically banking on matches.


She said her son increasingly began to ask her for cash in 2013.


"I hadn't confessed to myself the quantity of money he was asking me for at different times," she stated.


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


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


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


She stated 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 look for help but, in 2014, he took his own life.


After her kid's death, Wade found a number of e-mails from gambling firms using rewards such as funded 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 believed we 'd disallowed him from all the websites. There were great deals of emails but that's the one that actually stuck out."


Public health concern


Wade later on met Sittingbourne and Sheppey MP Kevin McKenna, who has considering that made marketing on betting damages a concern.


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


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


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


It would shift the focus from individual obligation to acknowledging it as a threat to the wider population as a whole.


Treating it as a public health concern could consist of actions like higher policy of gambling marketing and getting rid of the most addictive items.


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 gaming problem.


The Conservative federal government launched a review 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 slot devices.


A federal government spokesperson said it was "acutely aware" of the impact damaging gaming can have and said it was "devoted to enhancing protections to secure those at risk".


It introduced the statutory gaming levy which it referred to as a " action".


This positions a necessary charge on licensed betting operators which will be used to fund support and research study into betting 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 households, and campaigns to reform betting laws.


Chair Charles Ritchie stated many of its members had lost someone "extremely typical, delighted, popular" who had "participated in gambling thinking it was a bit of fun".


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


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


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