UK election betting scandal trial delayed until 2027C28
A high-profile court hearing at Southwark Crown Court on Friday, 11 July 2025, set the stage for the UK election betting scandal to stretch across the next three years. Craig Williams, former MP and parliamentary private secretary to Rishi Sunak, will not face trial until January 2028, more than three and a half years after the alleged offences took place. The Gambling Commission charged him, alongside 14 others, with cheating at gambling and assisting others to cheat under Section 42 of the Gambling Act 2005, as part of its wide-reaching investigation, Operation Scott.
Due to the number of defendants and the complexity of the case, the trial will now be split into two. The first group will appear in September 2027, with Williams among the second cohort due in court the following January. The court has scheduled a preliminary hearing to dismiss the charges for 19 January 2026.
The courtroom gasped as Sam Stein KC, prosecuting for the Gambling Commission, confirmed the anticipated timeline and admitted that even this schedule was “optimistic.”
What the case is about
The UK election betting scandal trial centres on allegations that multiple Conservative Party insiders, including data officers, campaign directors, and a former police officer, used confidential information about the timing of the July 2024 general election to place bets with UK operators. At least one bet was placed just three days before then-Prime Minister Sunak’s surprise announcement, which caught many in government and the media off guard.
According to the Gambling Commission, the investigation began in June 2024 after betting operators flagged suspicious wagers placed on a specific July election date. At the time, most political analysts expected the election to take place in the autumn or winter.
Craig Williams, who publicly admitted to placing a ?100 bet, has not entered a plea. His co-defendants, including former Conservative campaign director Anthony Lee, Bristol North West candidate Laura Saunders, and former Senedd member Russell George, have all entered not guilty pleas. SiGMA News first reported a full list of those charged in April.
Trial of integrity or error of judgement?
The Commission has made it clear that this is not just about small-stakes bets; it’s about breaches of trust and the misuse of privileged information.
Prosecutors claim that individuals used private conversations from inside Downing Street and CCHQ to place personal bets, casting serious doubt on the integrity of gambling markets. A conviction could result in a prison term of up to two years or an unlimited fine, depending on how the court weighs the offence.
The legal case, dubbed one of the most significant political betting prosecutions in UK history, builds on previous developments covered in SiGMA News’ June report. The article confirmed that 12 of the 15 defendants pleaded not guilty at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, with the case subsequently escalated to the Crown Court for full proceedings.
What happens next?
The gavel won’t fall just yet as the court is back in session in January 2026, when arguments to strike out the case take centre stage. In the meantime, both defence and prosecution teams will begin reviewing the communication records, betting slips, and digital evidence that underpin the UK Gambling Commission’s case.
Under Sections 27 and 28 of the Gambling Act 2005, the and bring criminal prosecutions where appropriate. These sections do not define the offence itself, which is covered under Section 42, but they give the Commission the legal teeth to act when lines are crossed.
For the Gambling Commission, this trial is more than a legal test. It’s a measure of how far regulation can stretch when it reaches into the political class. Operation Scott has already revealed how fragile the boundary is between party strategy and personal profit.
The British courts are under extreme strain, especially since the pandemic. Complex, multi-defendant criminal cases routinely take 18 to 36 months to reach trial. So, although this is technically normal, it doesn’t mean it isn’t strategically valuable for those in the dock. Long delays drain public pressure, exhaust media attention, fade memories, and hollow out consequences by the time verdicts arrive.
A timeline that pushes the first trial into late 2027 and Craig Williams’ case into 2028 risks letting consequences fade into the fog. In politics, a delay is its own defence. Public attention moves on, memories soften, and the noise fades, but the rot remains.
Integrity isn’t optional
As the UK election betting scandal trial unfolds over 2027C28, it will test the durability of regulation and public trust. If government insiders really did wager on their own secrets, then justice delayed must not become justice denied. Because in the long game of power and perception, a ?100 bet made in secret could still cost the system far more than it ever wins.
These aren’t just any defendants. They’re people entrusted to uphold the system, not exploit its shadows. In a society that holds ordinary punters accountable, those with power, privilege, and connections must follow the same rules.
As the gap between politics and the public grows wider by the year, integrity isn’t a chip to gamble with. When leaders treat it that way, they lose trust and fracture the mandate they were given. And if the system merely shrugs, it’s not broken. It’s playing along.
