The Offence of 'Cheating' - The Gambling Commission

Rhys Rosser • April 14, 2025

Pursuant to Sections 27 and 28 of the Gambling Act 2005, the Gambling Commission has the authority to investigate criminal offences and to authorise charges

The Gambling Commission is responsible for enforcing gambling laws in the UK. It investigates cases of cheating and ensures that gambling operators comply with regulations. The Commission has the authority to prosecute offenders and impose penalties on individuals or businesses that violate gambling laws.


Cheating in gambling is a serious offence under UK law, specifically addressed in Section 42 of the Gambling Act 2005. This legislation was introduced to regulate gambling activities and ensure fairness in betting markets. The offence of cheating applies to individuals who attempt to gain an unfair advantage through deception or interference with gambling processes.


The Gambling Act 2005 does not provide a strict definition of cheating, as such it would be given its usual dictionary definition.  A person commits an offence where they cheat at gambling, or do anything for the purpose of enabling or assisting another person to cheat at gambling. This includes using confidential information for the purpose of gaining an unfair advantage.


The way the legislation is drafted makes clear that this is deliberately broad, however, cheating at gambling may, in particular, consist of actual or attempted deception or interference in connection with the process by which gambling is conducted, or a real or virtual game, race or other event or process to which gambling relates.


Unusually, this is not an offence which appears to require a dishonest state of mind. The Supreme Court held in Ivey v Genting that in assessing whether the conduct was cheating it was unnecessary to decide whether it was dishonest. This was adopted in the criminal case of R v Barton [2020] EWCA Crim 575 that although that considered the test for dishonesty more broadly, rather than the specific application to the offence of 'cheating' in the Gambling Act 2005. 


The penalties for cheating under the Gambling Act 2005 can be severe:


- On summary conviction: Up to 51 weeks imprisonment (or 6 months in Scotland) and/or a fine.

- On conviction on indictment: Up to two years imprisonment, an unlimited fine, or both.


The Gambling Commission recently announced that they had authorised charges following an investigation into the timing of an election being called. 

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