Former Tory MP and 14 others charged with gambling offences over bets on 2024 election date

Former Tory MP Craig Williams is among 15 people who have been charged with gambling offences after placing bets into the 2024 .

The Gambling Commission launched a probe last summer after explosive claims emerged that a number of campaigners, candidates and others with links to the political , had allegedly made suspicious bets on the date of the general election. Using insider information to gain an unfair advantage in a bet can be considered a cheating offence - which is considered a crime.

After a ten-month investigation, 15 people have now been charged. They are due to appear at Westminster Magistrates Court at 10am on June 13, 2025.

Mr Williams was among a number of people linked to the reported to have made bets on the election date, which was called by then-prime minister . The former Montgomeryshire MP admitted at the time to having a "flutter" on the election date just days before it was announced in May last year.

Among others facing charges are Russell George, the Senedd member for Montgomeryshire, and Nick Mason, a former chief data officer for the Conservative Party.

Laura Saunders, who had been the Tories' candidate in Bristol North West before being dropped, has also been charged.

The Gambling Commission's investigation, which started in June last year, looked into individuals suspected of using confidential information - specifically advance knowledge of the proposed election date - to gain an unfair advantage in betting markets. Such actions constitute an offence of cheating under Section 42 of the Gambling Act 2005, a criminal offence.

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