Labour members received extremely expensive gifts from gambling companies
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8 Oct 2024 •
Reading time: 2 minutes A major scandal has come to light in the UK surrounding the Labour Party. Several members have received gifts and donations from gambling companies, totalling more than £1 million. Names such as Rachel Reeves and Jonathan Reynolds have appeared in the revelations, putting the party under considerable pressure.
Derek Webb: the gambler who supports Labour
A large part of the donations comes from Derek Webb, a former poker player who earned millions designing casino games. Webb donated no less than £750,000 to Labour in 2024. And this was not the first time: in 2023 he also donated £300,000.
Why so much money to Labour? Webb hopes to help the party reform British gambling law. He is a strong advocate of strict rules for gambling companies and wants more protection for vulnerable people. For that reason, he also supports the organisation Gambling with Lives, which supports families of people who committed suicide due to gambling addiction.
Gifts for Labour members
It doesn’t stop at money. Some Labour members have received personal gifts from gambling companies. For example, Rachel Reeves received tickets to a popular musical just before the election, offered by the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC). As if that wasn’t enough, she also received £20,000 to open her private office.
Jonathan Reynolds, Labour’s business secretary, received a ticket package worth £3,457 for the semi-final of the 2021 European Championship between England and Denmark. This package was given to him by the gambling company Entain.
The donation row surrounding Sir Keir Starmer
These revelations also bring an old debate back to the surface: the donation to Sir Keir Starmer, the leader of Labour. In 2020, Starmer received £25,000 from Peter Coates, the founder of the betting company bet365, to support his leadership campaign. There was already a lot of criticism about the influence of betting companies in politics, and now the issue is getting renewed attention.
Not just Labour in trouble
The problem is not limited to Labour. The Conservative Party has also been involved in gambling scandals. In June, for example, an aide to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was caught betting on the correct date of the election. In addition, several Conservative politicians were questioned by the UK Gambling Commission on suspicion of insider betting on the outcome of the election.
And then there was Kevin Craig, a Labour candidate in Central Suffolk and North Ipswich. He was suspended by his own party when it was revealed that he had bet on a Conservative victory. This caused quite a stir within the party. Although the Metropolitan Police reported in August that no criminal charges would be filed, the issue of gambling and politics remains a sensitive one.