A former election candidate for Labour that bet on himself to lose has claimed that the Gambling Commission cost him victory after allegedly ‘leaking’ details of the bet to the press.
Kevin Craig, who stood for the Labour Party in the Central Suffolk and North Ipswich constituency at the 2024 General Election, was so convinced he would lose to his Conservative rival that he wagered £800 on his main opposition to win – while planning to donate his winnings to charity.
But the election was a lot closer than predicted, with Craig cutting the Tories’ majority in the seat from more than 23,000 votes to less than 4,300.
And the 55-year-old has declared his belief that the race would have been much closer – and that he may even have won – had the regulator not publicly revealed their inquiry into his betting… despite there being no law against wagering against yourself in political markets.
Out of Control
Craig is now calling for a comprehensive parliamentary inquiry into the Gambling Commission, describing the regulator as ‘out of control’.
The founder of the lobbying firm PLMR has revealed he is self-funding a campaign to shed more light on the UKGC’s alleged wrongdoing.
His story began back in the early summer of 2024, when selected as the Labour candidate for what was expected to be a safe Conservative seat – they had won the Central Suffolk and North Ipswich by a whopping majority back in 2019.
But Labour was enjoying gains nationally as the popularity of the Tories plummeted, and Craig claims that polling suggested he had a chance of winning the ballot.
There was one problem: he’d already bet on himself to lose. And when the Gambling Commission heard about the wager, they launched a full investigation – and, alleges Craig, leaked details of it to the media.
Labour has suspended parliamentary candidate Kevin Craig after being told the Gambling Commission has launched an investigation into him.
Five Conservatives and one Labour now facing inquiries.
https://t.co/FpUEM5fWkW https://t.co/QDFMQvBZ6c
— BBC Breakfast (@BBCBreakfast) June 25, 2024
The now 55-year-old was suspended by Labour just nine days prior to the election vote, but remained on ballot cards as nominations had officially closed.
At the time, Craig described the bet as a ‘huge mistake’ and a ‘stupid error of judgement’, before making a public apology.
In the end, Labour snipped the Tories’ majority in the constituency by almost 20,000 votes – and that’s despite the furore surrounding Craig, with some locals in the ward describing him as making a ‘mockery’ of the ballot.
Changing the Result
By December 2024, the Gambling Commission had closed its case against Craig, with no evidence that he had acted unlawfully.
But the damage had already been done, he warned, accusing the regulator of ‘changing the result’ of the election with their alleged media leak. According to Craig, he had been polling as a possible winner.
He was readmitted to the Labour Party, but demanded that the law be changed so that MPs and election candidates couldn’t vote on political markets.
And his campaign against the Gambling Commission was just getting started.
“In 2024, it [the UKGC] accused me of cheating in writing. That accusation leaked nine days before the general election. That letter should have gone to me only, so how did it make its way into the media?
“I have never broken a rule or a regulation or a law. Betting on politics is not illegal, it never has been.”
Craig described the regulator as ‘not fit for purpose’ and ‘neglecting its statutory duties’.
“The same thing could happen to any candidate at the next election – we cannot let the Gambling Commission distort our democracy in this way.”
He has written to the Government’s Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, calling on them to investigate the regulator.
Election Betting Bombshell
The 2024 General Election was something of a disaster for politicians, and those connected to the main parties, and their betting habits.
Craig Williams, the former MP for Montgomeryshire in Wales, awaits sentencing after admitting to placing bets on the date of the election – using inside information that was not known publicly at the time of his bets.
Others that have been found guilty of the same ‘cheating at gambling’ charge include parliamentary aide Anthony Lee, his wife Laura and Amy Hind, who were each handed suspended prison sentences at Southwark Crown Court having placed, or tried to place, dozens of bets in a bid to win thousands of pounds.
Another dozen defendants, each accused of using privileged information to cheat at gambling, will face their own trials next year and into 2028.