Tory Party members Esther McVey and her husband Philip Davies attracted criticism for accepting hospitality from gambling operators amid the ongoing review of the country’s gambling legislation. The two Members of Parliament were condemned by several Liberal Democrats from their local Tatton constituency for receiving gifts like free tickets from the gambling firms during the government’s review of the 2005 Gambling Act.
British media reported that the two politicians were gifted free VIP tickets valued at £18,000 (approximately $24,750) to betting events over the course of two months. Said events included tennis and football games along with motorsport and horse races. McVey and her fellow MP spouse were also treated to thousands of pounds in the form of gifts by private gambling companies.
MP Esther McVey publicly admitted she had received tickets for the 2021 British Grand Prix which took place at the Silverstone Circuit this past July. According to the politician, the two tickets were worth £2,950 and she accepted them as a donation. Additionally, Normandie Stud, a British firm that breeds thoroughbred racing horses, granted the couple two tickets for this year’s Royal Ascot event, each worth £750.
As it turns out, McVey and Davies were also able to go to a Euro 2020 game with free tickets, valued at a little over £1.537 each. In this instance, it was the interactive casino and bingo operator Gamesys that granted them the tickets.
The MPs Received £9,100 in Free Ticketing from Entain
Gambling giant Entain was the couple’s biggest benefactor, so to speak. The Isle of Man-based company provided the two politicians with tickets and hospitality for the Euro 2020 clash between Denmark and England, in which the English prevailed. The cumulative value of the two tickets stood at £6,900.
The week prior to the football match, the politicians went to a Wimbledon event with free tickets from Entain whose value totalled £2,200. The Liberal Democrats from the Tatton constituency pointed out it must have been a great “embarrassment” for a politician like Esther McVey to be caught accepting hospitality from gambling companies.
According to her critics, MP McVey had always prided herself on siding with the honest and hard-working Brits. It made little sense for her to accept free tickets for major sporting events from a gambling firm that is at the forefront of the betting industry’s efforts to resist the looming changes to the UK’s gambling legislation.
McVey and her fellow MP spouse Philip Davis were hardly the only British politicians to take advantage of freebies granted by betting operators. As many as 65 members of the Conservative Party admitted to receiving free tickets between May and July, with a cumulative value of £160,000. By contrast, 23 members of the Labour Party were treated to free tickets and hospitality worth £31,921 during the same period.
- Author
Daniel Williams
