Former Tory MP Admits Doctoring Passport to Dodge Gambling Block

A former Conservative MP has admitted to editing her passport in order to access gambling sites she had previously self-excluded from.

Katie Wallis, who was the MP for Bridgend in Wales from 2019 to 2024, admitted in a hearing at Cardiff Crown Court that she had digitally altered an image of her passport to change her date of birth on the document.

That enabled her to access a betting site, despite having previously self-excluded after suffering from addictive behaviours.

Acting On Impulse

Wallis made national headlines back in 2022 when she revealed herself as transgender; becoming the first openly transgender MP in the House of Commons.

It was a challenging time, she revealed in court, and revealed that she was suffering from ‘acute psychiatric distress’ at the time the offence took place. Having previously self-excluded from UK licensed gambling sites, Wallis altered a digital copy of her passport to circumnavigate the block.

She then deposited money into one of her betting accounts, the court heard, which she then lost. However, this was a ‘one off’, according to Wallis, after she had acted on impulse during a stressful period.

Nevertheless, she was charged with possessing a false passport and possessing a false passport with ‘improper intention’.

Charged Under the Computer Misuse Act

In the end, Wallis cooperated with prosecutors to quickly conclude the case.

She was found not guilty of the two charges mentioned, after instead agreeing to plead guilty at Cardiff Crown Court to a separate offence under the Computer Misuse Act.

Having welcomed Wallis’ cooperation, the presiding judge Shomon Khan accepted that this was a ‘single impulsive act’, and not indicative of further criminality.

“The defendant has not repeated this conduct. The gambling problem which lay behind the offence has not recurred, has not given rise to any further offending, and is no longer a feature of her life,” the court heard.

Conditional Discharge

The incident could also be mitigated by the difficulty that Wallis was facing in her private life, Khan reasoned, which he accepted as a ‘period of psychological distress.’ She almost immediately reapplied her self-exclusion ban following the incident.

The judge also noted that nobody else had suffered any financial loss as part of the case, while Wallis’ physical passport had not been altered in any way – just a digital copy.

Khan imposed a conditional discharge of nine months on Wallis, which means that this case can be reopened and resentenced if she commits any other criminal offences during that timeframe.

Self Exclusion

Anyone in the UK can apply for self-exclusion from licensed gambling sites if they are experiencing problematic gambling behaviours.

You can self-exclude via your chosen betting site/app, with a direct link to responsible gambling tools usually provided in the main menu. If that isn’t available, you can contact the operator’s customer support team.

Alternatively, there are national programmes that can help you to self-exclude from all betting sites in one go. With GAMSTOP, it’s possible to self-exclude from online gambling and/or high street betting shops – this is a free service, with the block imposed immediately.

MP Gambling In the Spotlight

Of course, Wallis isn’t the only member of parliament that has faced a court date over their gambling recently.

Craig Williams, the former MP for Montgomeryshire, used inside information to bet on the date of the 2024 General Election. He is one of 15 people with ties to the Conservative Party that have been charged with related offences.

Williams, a personal aide to the then Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, found out the date of the ballot before it was made publicly known, placing bets totalling £372.50 on the outcome.

He pleaded guilty to cheating at gambling and will be sentenced next year.