The UK Gambling Commission said two former senior Conservative Party figures have pleaded guilty to offences linked to betting on the date of the 2024 General Election, bringing the number of guilty pleas in the case to four.
Anthony Lee, the party’s former director of campaigning, admitted two cheating offences under sections 42(1)(a) and 42(1)(b) of the Gambling Act 2005.
Laura Lee, formerly Saunders, pleaded guilty to one offence under section 42(1)(a). She is Anthony Lee’s wife, served as the party’s former head of international and stood as the Conservative candidate in Bristol North-West at the 2024 election.
The pair follow Amy Hind and Craig Williams, who pleaded guilty on 29 June 2026.
Sentencing and remaining trials
Sentencing for Anthony Lee, Laura Lee and Hind is scheduled for 23 October 2026 at Southwark Crown Court. Williams will be sentenced on a later date.
The Gambling Commission said trials for the case’s remaining ten defendants are due to take place in September 2027 and January 2028.
The regulator began investigating reports of insider betting on the election date in June 2024. The investigation followed a bet placed by Williams and flagged by Ladbrokes after he was recorded as a politically exposed person.
Operators subsequently flagged further bets involving politically sensitive individuals, including Metropolitan Police officers and political advisers. The Gambling Commission charged 15 people in April 2025. Four have now pleaded guilty.
The charges concern special markets allowing customers to bet on the precise date of a general election. Then-prime minister Rishi Sunak announced on 22 May 2024 that the election would take place on 4 July. Planning for that date had already started at 10 Downing Street and Conservative Campaign Headquarters before the announcement.
Anthony Lee’s position gave him access to confidential discussions about the timing of the election. He allegedly used that information to place bets and shared it with his wife, who then placed her own bets.
Limits of politically exposed person checks
UK operators already apply enhanced checks to politically exposed persons, but the case highlights the limits of those controls, said Bethan Lloyd, a partner at Wiggin.
“PEP status does not prevent someone from gambling,” Lloyd said. PEPs can bet, she explained, but not on events where inside information gives them an unfair advantage.
Lloyd also said a low-ranking MP or parliamentary aide would be unlikely to meet the threshold for PEP status. Requiring operators to verify every customer’s occupation would place an onerous burden on them, she argued.
