Conservative MP at loggerheads with campaign group over gambling actions

bate between the Campaign for Fairer Gambling (CFG) and Conservative MP Philip Davies has been sparked by an article in The Times regarding the latter’s betting activity.

The Times alleged via a source that Davies was winning money in the “low thousands of pounds per year” category with Ladbrokes through what was called a “bad each way” strategy on horseracing betting.

This led to the operator closing the account, but the ban was reportedly lifted after Davies made a complaint to a Ladbrokes director.

Davies was found to have breached the parliamentary code for not declaring hospitality from Ladbrokes worth £870 at the 2011 Cheltenham Festival.

The CFG, which has made a complaint to the parliamentary commissioner for standards, said in that complaint: “The climate of corporate bookmaking is such that even break-level accounts are being closed or their bet levels restricted, a fact which sparked the launch of the campaign, ‘Justice for Punters’. Therefore, any profitable account that is allowed to remain functional arouses some suspicion but it would be equally suspicious if a losing account was allowed to continue operating even if losses were not being paid.

“Mr. Davies could only enjoy profitable accounts due to his position in parliament and his willingness to speak up on the bookmakers’ behalf. Whilst there may not be documentary evidence to prove this beyond a reasonable doubt, it is clearly and convincingly above the balance of probability that there is an organised, financially beneficial relationship between Mr. Davies and the bookmakers.”

Davies, who is also the chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Betting and Gaming Group, defended himself to The Times by saying he did not know you are not “allowed to complain when you are a customer and you receive poor service” and said the reports of his betting activity were “a personal slur playing the man rather than the ball”.

A public enquiry into his betting activity would be welcomed by Davies “so that everyone can see this complaint treated with the contempt it deserves”.

Ladbrokes said it imposes or lifts account restrictions based “principally on the evidence of betting activity and patterns” and claimed the suggestions of changing its terms of service for Davies alone were “wholly misleading and utterly absurd”.

Davies also criticised the CFG founder Derek Webb, who donated £25,000 to the Shipley Labour Party prior to last year’s general election and said that “Mr. Webb and his henchmen appear to be motivated by sheer vindictiveness to those who stand in his way”.

Shipley is the constituency Davies represents.

Davies has previous with the CFG, after making a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) about advertisements damning fixed-odds betting terminals that were run by the CFG in The House magazine.

The ASA upheld the complaint on appeal in 2014 and Webb’s view was that Davies’ complaint should have been confidential.