Three sentenced for betting on the 2024 UK election date

Three people who bet on when the 2024 UK general election would be held, using confidential information, have been given suspended prison sentences. Anthony Lee, Laura Lee and Amy Hind were sentenced at Southwark Crown Court in London on 23 October 2026, having pleaded guilty to cheating under section 42 of the Gambling Act 2005. The Gambling Commission, which prosecuted the case, called it "a significant case and a first of its kind for the Commission."

The sentences

• Anthony Lee: 10 months and 2 weeks in prison on each of two counts, served concurrently and suspended for 12 months, plus 100 hours of unpaid work.
• Laura Lee: 4 months and 2 weeks, suspended for 12 months, plus 40 hours of unpaid work.
• Amy Hind: 6 months, suspended for 12 months, plus 50 hours of unpaid work.

A suspended sentence means the person does not go to prison unless they break the conditions or offend again during the 12 months. Unpaid work is supervised work in the community, to be completed within those 12 months. All three are also on probation for 12 months and are banned for 12 months from using online gambling apps. Anthony and Laura Lee must each pay £1,000 in prosecution costs; the court made no costs order against Hind.

What happened

Then Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced the election date on 22 May 2024. According to the Commission, there had already been significant planning for a 4 July election at 10 Downing Street and Conservative Campaign Headquarters, and gambling operators were offering markets on when the election would be held.

Anthony Lee, then the Conservative Party's Director of Campaigning, was party to confidential discussions about the timing. He used that information to place bets and passed it to his wife, Laura Lee, the party's Head of International and a candidate at the election, who also bet on the date. Amy Hind, who had previously worked for the party and was working for the NHS at the time, placed bets after receiving confidential information about when the election would be called.

Why it counts as cheating

Section 42 of the Gambling Act 2005 makes cheating at gambling a criminal offence. In this case, that meant betting on an outcome with confidential information the rest of the market did not have, and the Commission brought the prosecution itself. "Betting markets must be fair and must not be undermined by people using confidential information for their own benefit," said Katharine Diamond, the Commission's General Counsel. "We will continue to investigate suspected criminal activity and use our powers to protect the integrity of gambling."

In our view, markets on politics and entertainment are where this kind of inside information is hardest to spot, because the people who know the outcome early are often not the ones a sportsbook would normally watch. Such markets may soon become more common in Britain: IG Group has applied for a Gambling Commission licence to add politics, entertainment and sports prediction markets in early 2027.

Not over yet

Craig Williams has pleaded guilty to a cheating offence over bets on the election date and will be sentenced later. Ten other people have been charged with cheating offences over bets on the same date and are due to stand trial in September 2027 and January 2028. They have been charged, not convicted.

For a different kind of Commission enforcement, see its £900,000 settlement with L&L Europe over withdrawal delays.