Two More Admit Cheating Offences in Election-Betting Scandal

^{Anthony Lee and Laura Lee will be sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on 23 October after pleading guilty to cheating offences over the 2024 election-betting scandal. (Photo: Jorge Franganillo / Wikimedia Commons)}

Two more people connected to the Conservative Party have pleaded guilty to cheating offences over bets placed on the timing of the 2024 General Election, the Gambling Commission said on 10 September 2026.

Anthony Lee pleaded guilty to two offences of cheating under section 42(1)(a) and section 42(1)(b) of the Gambling Act 2005, while Laura Lee, formerly Saunders, pleaded guilty to one offence of cheating under section 42(1)(a). Both entered their pleas on 10 September.

Director of Campaigning Passed On Election Timing

The Gambling Commission's account sets out how the couple came to have access to confidential information. The 2024 General Election date, 4 July 2024, was announced by then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on 22 May 2024. Before that announcement, various gambling operators offered special markets on when the election would be called, on the understanding that the market would not be abused by anyone with inside information about the timing.

Anthony Lee was the Conservative Party's Director of Campaigning at the time. In that senior role, the regulator said, he was party to highly sensitive discussions about the election date, held at Conservative Campaign Headquarters and involving senior party staff. Rather than keeping the information confidential, the Gambling Commission said Lee used it to place bets himself and passed it on to his wife.

Laura Lee was Head of International for the Conservative Party and stood as the party's candidate for Bristol North West at the 2024 election. According to the regulator, she placed bets on the election with the benefit of confidential information her husband passed to her about when it would be called.

Sentencing Set for October, More Trials to Follow

Anthony Lee, Laura Lee and Amy Hind are due to be sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on 23 October 2026, the Gambling Commission confirmed.

Amy Hind, who admitted her own cheating offence earlier in the case, is due to be sentenced on the same date. Craig Williams pleaded guilty on 29 June 2026 and is still awaiting a sentencing date, the Gambling Commission said.

The wider case involves ten defendants in total. The Gambling Commission said their trials are scheduled to take place in two batches, in September 2027 and January 2028, meaning the full scope of the scandal will not be resolved in court for well over a year.

Background to the Election-Betting Investigation

The investigation, one of the largest the Gambling Commission has run into suspected insider betting, began after reports emerged in 2024 that people close to Rishi Sunak and Conservative campaign staff had placed bets on the general election date before it was made public. Cheating under section 42 of the Gambling Act 2005 covers cheating at gambling, or doing anything to enable or assist another person to cheat, and applies whether or not the person cheating actually won anything.

The Gambling Commission's enforcement role in this case has focused on the criminal offences under section 42, which sit alongside the wider licensing framework it administers for UK casino bonuses and betting products. Further updates on sentencing and the remaining defendants are expected as the case progresses through Southwark Crown Court over the coming months.