The Gambling Commission is investigating “many” other individuals who bet on the timing of the general election, it has been reported.

Four Conservative officials and one of Rishi Sunak’s close protection officers are currently under investigation over placing bets on a July election date before it was publically announced. The scandal threatens to engulf the Tories less than two weeks out from polling day.

The commission is now investigating “many” others, ITV’s Robert Peston reported, after it wrote to gambling companies requesting details of any account that had bet £20 or more on a July election within days of Mr Sunak’s public announcement on 22 May.

He said in a post on X that the initial trawl for bets yielded “many names” and the commission is now investigating possible links to the Conservative party or the government.

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