Three sentenced for General Election betting offences
23 October 2026
Three people have been sentenced for offences of cheating relating to bets placed on the date of the 2024 General Election.
Anthony Lee, Laura Lee and Amy Hind appeared at Southwark Crown Court today (23 October 2026) having previously pleaded guilty to offences under section 42 of the Gambling Act 2005.
- Anthony Lee received a custodial sentence of 10 months and 2 weeks imprisonment on each count to be served concurrently (Suspended for 12 months), 100 hours unpaid work to be completed in the next the 12 months;
- Laura Lee received a custodial sentence of 4 months and 2 weeks imprisonment (Suspended for 12 months), 40 hours unpaid work to be completed in the next 12 months;
- Amy Hind received a custodial sentence of 6 months imprisonment (Suspended for 12 months), 50 hours unpaid work to be completed in the next 12 months.
All defendants are subject to a probation requirement for the next 12 months and all defendants have a prohibited activity requirement for the next 12 months from using online gambling applications.
Katharine Diamond, General Counsel at the Gambling Commission, said:
"I’d like to thank colleagues across the Gambling Commission, particularly in our intelligence, enforcement, counsel and legal teams, for their hard work in bringing this case to this point.
"This is a significant case and a first of its kind for the Commission, demonstrating our commitment to protecting the integrity of betting markets.
“Betting markets must be fair and must not be undermined by people using confidential information for their own benefit.
“These convictions demonstrate the importance of protecting the integrity of gambling markets and acting where there is evidence that individuals have sought to cheat.
“We will continue to investigate suspected criminal activity and use our powers to protect the integrity of gambling.”
Anthony Lee and Laura Lee are to pay £1,000 each prosecution costs. No order for costs was made in respect of Amy Hind.
The court heard that the date of the 2024 General Election was announced by then Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on 22 May 2024.
Before the announcement, there had been significant planning for an election to be held on 4 July, including discussions at 10 Downing Street and among staff at Conservative Campaign Headquarters.
In the period before the announcement, gambling operators offered markets on when the General Election would be held.
Anthony Lee was the Conservative Party's Director of Campaigning and, through his role, was party to confidential discussions about the timing of the General Election. He used that information to place bets and passed the information to his wife, Laura Lee.
Laura Lee, who was Head of International for the Conservative Party and a Conservative candidate at the 2024 General Election, placed bets on the election date using confidential information passed to her by her husband.
Amy Hind, who had previously worked for the Conservative Party and was working for the NHS at the time, placed bets after receiving confidential information about when the General Election would be called.
The Commission has previously announced that Craig Williams pleaded guilty to an offence of cheating in relation to betting on the date of the 2024 General Election. He will be sentenced at a later date.
Simon Chatfield, Paul Place, Iain Makepeace, James Ward, Thomas James, Russell George, Charlotte Lang, Jacob Willmer, Jeremy Hunt and Nick Mason are also charged with offences of cheating relating to bets placed on the date of the 2024 General Election and they are due to stand trial in September 2027 and January 2028.
Last updated: 23 October 2026
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