TLDR Kevin Craig wants Parliament to investigate the UK Gambling Commission. He bet £800 that he would lose his 2024 election race. Labour suspended him nine days before the vote, and he lost by 4,290 votes. The regulator dropped its case in December 2024 without charges. Craig claims the commission leaked details and cost him his seat.
Kevin Craig, a former Labour candidate who bet against himself in the 2024 UK general election, wants Parliament to investigate the country’s gambling regulator. He is calling for a review of the Gambling Commission’s conduct, spending and use of data.
Craig, 55, made the demand in an interview with iGaming Business published on Wednesday, November 11. He claims the regulator’s actions, not his own wager, cost him a seat in Parliament.
“The regulator at the moment is out of control,” Craig said. He warned that other political candidates could face the same treatment.
The commission closed its case against Craig in December 2024 without bringing charges. He is now asking lawmakers to turn their attention to the regulator itself.
The Push for an Inquiry
Craig is the founder and CEO of the lobbying firm PLMR. He says he is personally funding a campaign to get lawmakers to act. His proposed inquiry covers several areas of the regulator’s work.
He wants the Culture, Media and Sport Committee to examine how the Gambling Commission has behaved. The proposed inquiry would also look at the regulator’s spending and its approach to illegal gambling.
Craig also wants the committee to review how the commission uses statistics when making policy. He argues the regulator interfered with the democratic process during the 2024 election.
He has accused the commission of leaking confidential correspondence about its investigation to the media. The leak claim is one of the