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In addition to illegal gambling, investigators suspect extensive tax evasion, with a projected tax shortfall of about €77.6 million for 2024.

The DSWV, representing licensed sports-betting operators, broadly welcomed the law enforcement action as a necessary response to the illegal market’s growth and associated risks. 

“This successful investigation clearly demonstrates the scale that the illegal gambling market has now reached,” said Mathias Dahms, president of the DSWV.

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The Commission launched its investigation into various reports of insider betting on the election date in June 2024 after Ladbrokes flagged a bet placed by Williams, who was recorded as a politically exposed person.

Further bets flagged by operators involved other politically sensitive individuals, including Metropolitan Police officers and political advisers. The Commission charged 15 people total in April 2025. Four have now pleaded guilty.

The offences relate to special betting markets that let customers wager on the exact date of the general election.

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While appearing before Navarro on Thursday, Rashid admitted to a series of breaches of his supervised release that prosecutors said showed he had not reformed.

They included tampering with a witness, lying to probation officers about a cell phone, illegally recording a phone call, maintaining a concealed “sex room” inside his home, failing a drug test, and associating with a convicted felon.

Navarro told Rashid she doubted his claims of rehabilitation, saying she was “very disappointed” and “not sure I believe” he is a changed person.