Three sentenced for cheating on 2024 UK General Election date bets

Three people have been sentenced at Southwark Crown Court for cheating offences relating to bets placed on the date of the 2024 General Election, the Gambling Commission announced.

Anthony Lee, Laura Lee and Amy Hind appeared at the court on 23 October 2026, having previously pleaded guilty to offences under section 42 of the Gambling Act 2005.

Sentences handed down

Anthony Lee received a custodial sentence of 10 months and 2 weeks imprisonment on each count to be served concurrently, suspended for 12 months, and 100 hours unpaid work to be completed in the next 12 months.

Laura Lee received a custodial sentence of 4 months and 2 weeks imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, and 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, and 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. Anthony Lee and Laura Lee are to pay £1,000 each prosecution costs, while no order for costs was made in respect of Amy Hind.

Use of confidential information

The date of the 2024 General Election was announced by then Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on 22 May 2024.

Anthony Lee was the Conservative Party’s Director of Campaigning and was party to confidential discussions about the timing of the General Election, which he used to place bets and passed the information to his wife, Laura Lee.

Laura Lee was Head of International for the Conservative Party and a Conservative candidate at the 2024 General Election, and placed bets on the election date using confidential information passed to her by her husband.

Amy Hind had previously worked for the Conservative Party and was working for the NHS at the time, and placed bets after receiving confidential information about when the General Election would be called.

The Gambling Commission said this is a significant case and a first of its kind for the Commission.

Further proceedings

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 and will be sentenced at a later date.

Ten other people – Simon Chatfield, Paul Place, Iain Makepeace, James Ward, Thomas James, Russell George, Charlotte Lang, Jacob Willmer, Jeremy Hunt and Nick Mason – are charged with offences of cheating relating to bets placed on the date of the 2024 General Election and are due to stand trial in September 2027 and January 2028.