The laws around gambling and how the Tory scandal may be resolved

Legislation is clear on betting — cheaters are criminals.

Provisions in the Gambling Act 2005 make it an offence for an individual to cheat when gambling — or to enable or assist another person to do so. Penalties involve jail terms of up to two years, a fine, or both.

The question, therefore, is what constitutes cheating? Lawyers have pointed out that both case law — the history of previous judicial rulings — and the Gambling Commission, the statutory watchdog, place weight on the use of “inside information” to gain an “unfair advantage”.

But as Melissa Haskell, a specialist gambling law partner at the law firm Knights, said: “This will likely involve something more than overhearing something in the pub.”

She added that for charges