Three Sentenced Over Insider Bets on 2024 General Election Date
Three people have been sentenced at Southwark Crown Court for cheating offences linked to bets placed on the date of the 2024 General Election, in the first case of its kind brought by the Gambling Commission. Anthony Lee, Laura Lee and Amy Hind had each pleaded guilty to offences under section 42 of the Gambling Act 2005, the Commission announced on 23 October 2026.
Anthony Lee received 10 months and two weeks in custody on each count, to run concurrently and suspended for 12 months, plus 100 hours of unpaid work. Laura Lee received four months and two weeks, suspended for 12 months, with 40 hours of unpaid work. Amy Hind received six months, suspended for 12 months, with 50 hours of unpaid work.
All three are subject to a 12-month probation requirement and a 12-month prohibited activity requirement that bars them from using online gambling applications. Anthony Lee and Laura Lee must each pay £1,000 in prosecution costs. No costs order was made against Hind.
What The Court Heard
The court heard that then Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced the election date on 22 May 2024. Before that, there had been significant planning for a 4 July election, including discussions at 10 Downing Street and among staff at Conservative Campaign Headquarters. In the period before the announcement, gambling operators were offering markets on when the election would be held.
Anthony Lee was the Conservative Party's Director of Campaigning. The Commission said he used confidential information from discussions about the timing of the election to place bets and passed it to his wife.
Laura Lee, who was the party's Head of International and a Conservative candidate at the 2024 election, placed bets using that information.
Amy Hind had previously worked for the party and was working for the NHS at the time. The Commission said she placed bets after receiving confidential information about when the election would be called.
Commission Response
Katharine Diamond, General Counsel at the Commission, thanked colleagues in its intelligence, enforcement, counsel and legal teams and called the case significant and a first of its kind for the regulator.
She said betting markets must be fair and must not be undermined by people using confidential information for their own benefit, and that the Commission will keep investigating suspected criminal activity and using its powers to protect the integrity of gambling.
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What Comes Next
The case is part of a wider investigation. The Commission has previously said Craig Williams pleaded guilty to cheating in relation to betting on the election date and will be sentenced at a later date.
Ten other people are charged with cheating offences relating to bets on the same date and are due to stand trial in September 2027 and January 2028. They are charged, not convicted.
Gambling.com has followed the case since the first guilty pleas, including the earlier report on a former Tory campaign chief pleading guilty over an election bet. Sentencing marks the first conclusion in a case that has put insider information in political betting markets in front of the courts.
