As part of a cooperative investigation with the gaming watchdog, UK police announced on Thursday that they will look into a “small number” of wagers placed on the general election’s date.
The London Metropolitan Police’s announcement raises the potential that police personnel and politicians investigating them for betting on election day could face criminal charges.
The Metropolitan Police Department had previously declared that one of its officers had been detained on suspicion of official misconduct and had been placed on restricted duty due to allegations of electoral meddling.
Now that six more officials have been found to have gambled on the poll’s timing, the Gambling Commission, the industry watchdog, is looking into their actions.
In an update on the growing scandal on Thursday, the Met said its directorate of professional standards was being kept informed on those probes, while officers were also beginning to investigate cases.
“We have agreed a joint approach with the Gambling Commission, who are the appropriate authority to investigate the majority of these allegations,” Detective Superintendent Katherine Goodwin said.
“There will, however, be a small number of cases where a broader criminal investigation by the police is required,” she added.
The final days of the campaign have been marred by controversy over the matter, as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak tries to reduce his Conservative party’s significant polling disadvantage to the Labour opposition before the July 4 election.
In response to allegations that at least two Tory candidates wagered on the timing of the election using confidential knowledge, Sunak declared he was “incredibly angry” and withdrew his support for them.
While placing political wagers is legal in the UK, it is illegal to do so with insider information.
In the meantime, Labour withdrew support for a candidate following news that he was under investigation by the Gambling Commission for placing bets on the result of the election in his own constituency.
But the force added its specialist crime unit will also probe a “smaller” number of bets “with specific features that could mean additional offences apply, for example misconduct in public office”.
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