Three people closely tied to UK politics have been accused of placing a wager on election dates. While it is legal for local bookmakers in the UK to accept bets on politics, doing so with inside information is against the law.
Two of the officials involced were connected to UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
The first is a police officer from the Met’s Royalty and Specialist Protection Command who has been arrested for allegedly placing a wager on when the UK general election would occur. The UK’s Gambling Commision brought the matter to the attention of the Met.
The second is Craig Williams, a parliamentary aide to Sunak who allegedly bet on election dates. Williams has already fessed up to the crime.
“I clearly made a huge error of judgment that’s for sure and I apologize.”
Craig Williams
The third involved in the scandal is Laura Saunders. She is a Conservative party candidate for Parliament from Bristol North West who is also under investigation for similar election timing wagers.
This all comes at a time when the Conservative party is polling poorly. The elections are being held on July 4th, and the best USA sportsbook sites are offering odds that suggest the Labour party will easily capture a majority when all votes are cast.
Labour To Win An Overall Majority?
- Yes -4000
- No +1000
Party to Win Most Seats
- Labour -10000
- Conservatives +2000
- Any Other Party +2500
If the above political prop bets are accurate, then the Conservatives will become a minority party, marking the first Labour party majority win since 2005. Sunak is also polling closely in his home district, creating the possibility for him to be the first active PM to lose their seat.
Conservatives have latched onto the recent scandal and have posted advertisements that state “If you bet on Labour, you can never win.” Odds for the next Conservative party leader are now taking action online at our best-reviewed sportsbooks.
Next Conservative Party Leader
- Kemi Badenoch +300
- Nigel Farage +450
- Penny Mordaunt +500
- Priti Patel +500
- Tom Tugendhat +800
- James Cleverly +1000
Kemi Badenoch, the sitting Secretary of State for Business and Trade, leads the odds to become the next party leader for the Conservatives. Nigel Farage is trailing by 150 points in the odds to win.
Any of the odds presented here should remain online until at least the date of the election. These lines are only accurate of the time of this writing. We say this because election odds are known to shift often.