Craig Williams Admits Election Betting Offence
Former Conservative MP Craig Williams has admitted a gambling offence over bets placed on the date of the 2024 general election.
Craig Williams, a former Conservative MP and aide to Rishi Sunak, has pleaded guilty to cheating at gambling after placing bets on the date of the 2024 general election.
Williams, 41, entered the guilty plea at Southwark Crown Court on Monday.
Craig Williams Enters Guilty Plea
The case centers on bets placed before Sunak publicly announced the 2024 general election date.
Prosecutors said Williams placed bets of £250, £100 and £22.50 on the timing of the election.
At the time, Williams was the MP for Montgomeryshire and served as parliamentary private secretary to the then-prime minister.
That role placed him close to Downing Street at a moment when the election date was not publicly known.
Sunak’s decision to call the election for July 2024 surprised many Conservative MPs, with many expecting an autumn contest.
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Gambling Commission Case Began After 2024 Election Bets
The Gambling Commission announced in April 2025 that 15 people had been charged with offences under the Gambling Act 2005 after an investigation into alleged cheating linked to bets on the timing of the 2024 general election.
Its official notice said the charges followed an investigation into alleged betting activity connected to the election date.
Williams was among the people named in the case.
The commission later confirmed that the defendants had appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, with the case referred to Crown Court.
Williams’ guilty plea now separates his position from others still contesting allegations linked to the wider investigation.
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Why the Bets Became Politically Serious
Betting on an election date is not automatically illegal in the UK.
The legal issue is whether someone used confidential information to gain an unfair advantage in the betting market.
That is why Williams’ former role mattered.
As Sunak’s parliamentary private secretary, he was not a backbench MP with only public information.
He was part of the prime minister’s political operation before the election date was announced.
When the case first emerged in 2024, Williams said he had made a “huge error of judgment.”
The guilty plea now moves the matter from political embarrassment to a criminal admission.
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Guilty Plea Leaves Wider Case Unresolved
The plea does not end the wider election betting case.
Other defendants connected to the Gambling Commission investigation remain at different stages of the court process.
The original case drew attention because it raised a sharp question about access to private political information before a national election.
For voters, the central issue was not the size of the bets.
It was whether people close to power could use information unavailable to the public before a major democratic event.
Williams lost his seat at the 2024 general election.
His guilty plea now gives the scandal its first major admission from a former MP directly tied to the prime minister’s inner circle.
The next important step will be sentencing, and whether any further pleas or trials reshape the wider case.
TL;DR
- Former Conservative MP Craig Williams pleaded guilty to cheating at gambling.
- The offence relates to bets placed on the date of the 2024 general election.
- Prosecutors said the bets were £250, £100 and £22.50.
- Williams was an aide to then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak before the election was called.
- The Gambling Commission charged 15 people in the wider election betting investigation.
- The wider case remains active for other defendants.
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Politics & World News Editor
James Mitchell has covered US and UK politics for over a decade, with a focus on elections, foreign policy, and Capitol Hill. He breaks down complex political stories into clear, fast analysis.
