Bereaved Mum Backs Require Gambling Regulation

4 February 2026
ShareSave


Helen CattPolitical Editor, BBC South East


A mother whose kid took his own life after ending up being addicted to betting is backing calls from MPs to treat the practice 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 said it had taken her several years to understand that addiction suggested "the onus wasn't all on him" to stop gambling.


The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), the main market body, stated the "overwhelming bulk" of individuals who bet do so "safely and properly".


'All gone'


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


He likewise loved football, typically betting on matches.


She said her kid significantly started to ask her for money in 2013.


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


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


Wade said: "He rang me up and asked me if I could move some cash 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 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 look for assistance but, in 2014, he took his own life.


After her boy's death, Wade found a variety of emails from betting firms offering rewards such as funded journeys to see his favourite football team.


She stated: "I discovered that he had an offer of a totally free bet for ₤ 1,000 and I thought we 'd disallowed him from all the sites. There were great deals of e-mails however that's the one that really stuck out."


Public health concern


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


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 - methods gambling.


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


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


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


Treating it as a public health problem could include actions like higher policy of betting advertising and eliminating the most addicting products.


The Betting and Gaming Council said the "overwhelming majority" of the 22.5 million people 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 grownups stated they had a gambling problem.


The Conservative government launched a review of gambling regulation in 2023.


In 2025, the Gambling Commission provided people the right to more control over the direct marketing they get from betting companies and introduced maximum stakes on online slot makers.


A government spokesperson said it was "acutely conscious" of the impact harmful gambling can have and said it was "devoted to enhancing defenses to those at threat".


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


This places a compulsory charge on certified gambling operators which will be utilized to money support and research study into betting addiction.


'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 stated most of its members had lost somebody "extremely typical, pleased, popular" who had actually "gotten in into betting thinking it was a bit of fun".


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


He accused the market of promoting a story that it is "something wrong with the individual, a weakness or flaw in their character".


Follow BBC Kent on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250.