Legislation is clear on betting — cheaters are criminals.
Provisions in the Gambling Act 2005 make it an offence for an individual to cheat when gambling — or to enable or assist another person to do so. Penalties involve jail terms of up to two years, a fine, or both.
The question, therefore, is what constitutes cheating? Lawyers have pointed out that both case law — the history of previous judicial rulings — and the Gambling Commission, the statutory watchdog, place weight on the use of “inside information” to gain an “unfair advantage”.
Craig Williams, the former Conservative MP for Cardiff North, admitted placing a bet on the date of the general election
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But as Melissa Haskell, a specialist gambling law partner at the law firm Knights, said: “This will likely involve something more than overhearing something in the pub.”
She added that for charges