Majority charged in election betting scandal plead not guilty
The Gambling Commission’s general election betting case hit the court this week for the 15 people previously accused of betting on the date of last year’s UK general election.
The accused allegedly used insider information, resulting in charges of cheating under Section 42 of the Gambling Act 2005.
Of the 15 facing charges, 12 have denied the charges, while three did not enter a plea. Among the trio to not enter a plea was former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s parliamentary private secretary and former Montgomeryshire Member of Parliament Craig Williams. Former police officer Jeremy Hunt and Jacob Wilmer, a special advisor for the Conservative Party, also gave no indication of their pleas.
Who has been charged with election betting fraud?
However, 12 of those charged pleaded not guilty, including Bristol North parliamentary candidate Laura Saunders and her husband Anthony Lee, the Tories’ director of campaigning:
- Simon Chatfield, former Conservative Party marketing officer
- Russell George, former member of the Senedd for Montgomeryshire
- Amy Hind
- Anthony Hind, deputy digital director for the Tories
- Thomas James, director of Welsh conservatives
- Charlotte Lang, a 2019 election candidate for the Conservatives
- Anthony Lee, director of campaigning for the Conservatives
- Iain Makepeace, former head of creative, design and print for the Conservatives
- Nick Mason, former Conservative Party chief data officer
- Paul Place, a Conservative Party charity trustee
- Laura Saunders, Bristol North candidate
- James Ward, former Conservative Party aide
Anyone found guilty of cheating under Section 42 of the Gambling Act may be fined or imprisoned for two years if convicted in a criminal court. As the case has been filed in a magistrate’s court, the sentence could instead be up to six months imprisonment or a fine.
Of those charged, Williams, Lee and Anthony Hind face additional charges of enabling or assisting a person to cheat at gambling.
The defendants will reappear at Southwark Crown Court on 11 July.
The election betting scandal
The case dates back to an investigation launched by the Gambling Commission in June 2024 after an operator flagged that a bet had been placed on the date of the upcoming general election, by someone it considered politically sensitive.
More cases quickly arose, including a police officer working as part of the prime minister’s protection team, who was subsequently arrested over betting on the general election date. The snap election was called for 4 July and saw Labour win in a landslide.
A separate Met Police probe into insider election betting closed in August. The Met investigation also followed reports of up to seven police officers. These had also been accused of betting on the date of the election, while allegedly having insider information.
No one was charged under the Met’s election betting investigation, but the force said in a statement there was still scope for criminal charges to be brought by the Gambling Commission.