Yes, that does sound like a bad front bearing. Assuming that's true:

If its a good ball bearing type engine... you can order a set of replacement bearings. Its not hard to drive the old ones out with dowels and a mallet. The new ones should be machine pressed in though. Its all too easy to hand press in a bearing just a tiny bit crooked, warp the case and have the bearing not be straight ever again, no matter what you do to fix it. A machine shop won't charge much to press in the bearings.

If its a bushing type engine... gotta buy a new case (and usually a crankshaft) and it might be better to just buy a new engine. Thebrass bushing insert CAN be drilled out... and replaced. But its more trouble than its worth. The case is usually cheaper than the machine shop charges.

If its a cheap ($50 to $70) ball bearing engine... its probably best to just replace the whole thing.

You don't say what kind of engine you have. Is the needle valve set properly? PDuck

It isnt a FOX 40 is it? I've had the same problem, I just havent gotten around to ordering the bearings. Just curious.

Note... don't just replace the front bearing. replace both front and rear bearings at the same time. the probability is that the rear bearing had fragments of the front bearing get in it... And both have the same number of hours of use, and the same amount of lubrication has been available to both. The rear, generally being a larger dia will typically not be AS loose... but its still worn, and would be likely to fail rather shortly anyway.