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.