Report: GB regulator could look to charge five people over ‘Gamblegate’
Regulator considering taking action against those alleged to have placed bets on the date of the UK general election using inside information, as per Sky News
As many as five people, possibly including a politician, could be charged by the Gambling Commission over the general election betting scandal.
As reported by Sky News, an unnamed source has alleged at least three individuals will face punishment, with a close protection guard also reportedly a figure of interest in the investigation.
The Gambling Commission has refrained from commenting on the ongoing investigation since it was launched in the summer.
A spokesperson for the regulator said: “We clearly appreciate the level of public interest there is in this ongoing investigation.
“But, to protect the integrity of the investigation and to ensure a fair and just outcome, we are unable to comment further at this time, including the name of any person who may be under suspicion, or the total number of suspects,” they added.
The investigation pertains as to whether certain individuals placed bets on the general election being held on 4 July in the days leading up to it, using inside knowledge.
Under section 42 of the Gambling Act, the use of confidential information to gain an unfair advantage when betting could constitute a criminal offence of cheating.
The controversy started in June, when Craig Williams, ex-parliamentary private secretary to then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and former MP for Montgomeryshire, placed a £100 bet on the date of the election at a Ladbrokes in his constituency just days before Sunak made the official announcement.
Soon after, Williams took to social media to confirm he was being investigated.
“I put a flutter on the general election some weeks ago,” he said in a post on X on 13 June. “This has resulted in some routine inquiries and I confirm I will fully co-operate with these.”
Both the Conservative Party’s director of campaigning Tony Lee, and his wife Laura Saunders, the Tory candidate for Bristol North West, were also the subject of a Gambling Commission probe.
The Conservatives’ chief data officer, Nick Mason and Welsh Conservative MP Russell George were likewise embroiled in the controversy.
Speaking to the Daily Mail in October, George said he hadn’t heard from the Gambling Commission in “some months”.
Other high-ranking members of the Tory Party were questioned as witnesses, including Sunak’s Downing Street chief of staff Liam Booth-Smith and former deputy prime minister Sir Oliver Dowden.
A total of seven Metropolitan Police officers are also being investigated, including one of Sunak’s close protection officers.
The Metropolitan Police confirmed on 23 August that it had concluded its own investigation into proceedings after the “high bar for misconduct in public office to be proven was not met”.
Following the Met’s statement, Gambling Commission CEO Andrew Rhodes outlined the regulator’s stance as its investigation continued.
“We have remained focused on our criminal investigation into confidential information being used to gain an unfair advantage when betting on the date of the general election,” he explained.
“Our investigation continues to progress and we have interviewed several suspects under caution. We are continuing to interview a number of witnesses, who are co-operating with this criminal investigation, as well as gathering further documentary and electronic evidence.”