Bereaved Mum Backs Require Gambling Regulation

4 February 2026
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Editor, BBC South East


A mom whose kid took his own life after ending up being addicted to betting is backing calls from MPs to deal with the practice as a public health risk.


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


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


The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), the main industry body, stated the "overwhelming bulk" of people who gamble do so "securely and properly".


'All gone'


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


He also enjoyed football, frequently banking on matches.


She said her child increasingly started to ask her for cash in 2013.


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


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


Wade said: "He rang me up and asked me if I could transfer some money to spend for the breakfast.


"He 'd just been paid that 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, 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 help however, in 2014, he took his own life.


After her boy's death, Wade found a number of emails from betting firms using incentives such as financed journeys to see his favourite football team.


She stated: "I found that he had an offer of a free bet for ₤ 1,000 and I thought we 'd disallowed him from all the sites. There were lots of emails however that's the one that really stood out."


Public health problem


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


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


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


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


It would move the focus from private duty to identifying it as a risk to the wider population as a whole.


Treating it as a public health issue might consist of actions like higher guideline of gambling advertising and getting rid of the most addictive items.


The Betting and Gaming Council stated the "overwhelming majority" of the 22.5 million individuals who bet in Britain did so "safely" and "properly".


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


The Conservative federal government released a review of gaming guideline in 2023.


In 2025, the Gambling Commission offered individuals the right to more control over the direct marketing they get from betting companies and introduced optimal stakes on online fruit machine.


A federal government representative stated it was "acutely mindful" of the impact hazardous gambling can have and said it was "dedicated to strengthening securities to protect those at risk".


It presented the statutory gaming levy which it explained as a "major favorable step".


This puts a necessary charge on certified betting operators which will be utilized to fund assistance and research study into gambling addiction.


'Little bit of enjoyable'


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


Chair Charles Ritchie said many of its members had lost someone "extremely typical, happy, popular" who had actually "gotten in into gambling thinking it was a little fun".


"That's what we're all told and then when you enter problem you're efficiently 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 weak point or defect in their character".


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