Bereaved mum backs calls for gambling regulation

A mother whose son took his own life after becoming addicted to gambling is backing calls from MPs to treat the habit as a public health risk.

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 taken her many years to understand that addiction meant "the onus wasn't all on him" to stop gambling.

The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), the main industry body, said the "overwhelming majority" of people who gamble do so "safely and responsibly".

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

He also loved football, often betting on matches.

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

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

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

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

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

She said she now believes he had been sitting 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 but, in 2014, he took his own life.

After her son's death, Wade found a number of emails from gambling firms offering incentives such as funded trips to see his favourite football team.

She said: "I found that he had an offer of a free bet for £1,000 and I thought we'd barred him from all the sites. There were lots of emails but that's the one that really stuck out."

Wade later met Sittingbourne and Sheppey MP Kevin McKenna, who has since made campaigning on gambling harms a priority.

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

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

"If it was anything else we'd be looking at it as a public health issue," he added.

It would shift the focus from individual responsibility to recognising it as a risk to the wider population as a whole.

Treating it as a public health issue could include actions like greater regulation of gambling advertising and removing the most addictive products.

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

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

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

In 2025, the Gambling Commission gave people the right to more control over the direct marketing they receive from gambling firms and introduced maximum stakes on online slot machines.

A government spokesperson said it was "acutely aware" of the impact harmful gambling can have and said it was "committed to strengthening protections to safeguard those at risk".

It introduced the statutory gambling levy which it described as a "major positive step".

This places a mandatory charge on licensed gambling operators which will be used to fund support and research into gambling addiction.

Wade is now part of Gambling With Lives, a group formed by other bereaved parents that offers support to families, and campaigns to reform gambling laws.

Chair Charles Ritchie said most of its members had lost someone "very normal, happy, popular" who had "entered into gambling thinking it was a bit of fun".

"That's what we're all told and then when you get into trouble you're effectively told it's your fault and families hear that as well," he said.

He accused the industry of promoting a narrative that it is "something wrong with the person, a weakness or flaw in their character".

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this story, information and support can be found at the BBC's Action Line.

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