Southwark Crown Court sentences three people over bets on 2024 election date

Southwark Crown Court has sentenced three people for using confidential information about the date of the 2024 UK general election to place bets, in breach of gambling law. The three defendants had previously pleaded guilty to offences under section 42 of the Gambling Act 2005, the British law governing gambling.

The sentences are suspended prison terms of 12 months, with unpaid work. One defendant received 10 months and two weeks of imprisonment on each count, to be served concurrently, and 100 hours of unpaid work. A second defendant received four months and two weeks of imprisonment and 40 hours of unpaid work, while the third was sentenced to six months of imprisonment and 50 hours of unpaid work.

All three must comply with probation service requirements for 12 months and are barred from using online gambling applications. Two of the defendants must each pay £1,000 towards the prosecution's legal costs; no such payment was ordered for the third person.

The general election date, set for 4 July 2024, was announced by then prime minister Rishi Sunak on 22 May of the same year. Before the announcement, the date had been discussed confidentially in Downing Street and at the headquarters of the Conservative Party campaign. In the period before the announcement, betting operators had opened markets on the election date.

According to the account given in the proceedings, one defendant, who held a senior role in the Conservative election campaign, used the confidential information he had access to in order to place bets and shared it with his wife, who used it in turn. The third person, who had previously worked for the Conservative Party and was employed by the NHS at the time of the events, placed bets after receiving confidential information about the date on which the election would be called.

Katharine Diamond, head of the legal office at the Gambling Commission, described the case as significant and the first of its kind for the British authority, and said the Commission is committed to protecting the integrity of betting markets. "I mercati delle scommesse devono essere equi e non devono essere compromessi da persone che utilizzano informazioni riservate a proprio vantaggio," Diamond said, adding that the Commission will continue to investigate suspected criminal activity and use its powers to protect the integrity of the sector.

The Gambling Commission also said that another defendant has pleaded guilty to a similar offence relating to bets on the date of the 2024 general election, with sentence to be determined at a later hearing. A further 10 people are accused of fraud offences connected to the same bets, and their trials are scheduled for September 2027 and January 2028.