Ladbrokes tops list of donors to brit politicians

British members of parliament appear to be an important sphere of influence for the Ladbrokes online and land gambling group, judging by a BBC report on the mandatory list of MP’s interests in excess of GBP 300.

The report reveals that Ladbrokes, which appears 15 times on the list, is by far the most frequent donor, well ahead of ITV, Channel 4, the Lawn Tennis Association, FA Premier League football, the Scotch Whiskey Association and Arsenal FC.

The BBC reports that out of 187 donations from UK sources registered by MPs, 58 were from the world of sport. A further 19 were from betting companies.

In reactions to the report, which reflects donations and hospitality from January 2016 up to August 29, activists seeking tighter regulations complained that this sort of political interactivity could be used to lobby MPs on key issues such as betting limits on fixed odds betting terminals.

However Ladbrokes commented that its goal was to ensure that politicians take positions “from a position of knowledge.”

Compared with the seriously big bucks splashed around by individuals and companies in the US political environment, the UK donations are miniscule; the Ladbrokes largesse totalled GBP 7,475-worth of hospitality to four MPs, Conservatives Philip Davies, Laurence Robertson and Thérèse Coffey and Labour’s Conor McGinn.

That total does not include any gifts or hospitality worth less than GBP 300 as MPs do not have to declare this.