London, United Kingdom

There are investigations underway into claims made by Nick Mason, the top data officer of the Conservative Party, which governs Britain, that he placed bets on the British election's schedule before it was announced.

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According to the Sunday Times report, Mason has gone on leave after learning that the UK Gambling Commission was looking into claims that he had made several bets on the day of the election.

He is the fourth top Tory being probed as part of the inquiry. Senior officials are suspected of using insider information to pocket thousands of pounds in wins.

Cheating while placing a wager, or helping someone |else to do so, is illegal according to the 2005 Gambling Act. There was a strange surge in wagers on a July vote before Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's abrupt announcement of a snap poll on July 4.

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The first person to come under fire was Tory candidate and Prime Minister's parliamentary assistant Craig Williams. He is accused of having wagered £100 on the election's timetable just a few days before Sunak announced the early July 4 poll.

The party's director of campaigns, Tony Lee, and his Tory candidate wife, Laura Sanders, were also under investigation. An officer from Sunak's police protection squad was detained for his involvement in the controversy.

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The probe, according to outgoing Leveling Up Secretary Michael Gove, is similar to the Partygate Scandal that brought down Boris Johnson. He said that the impression of the Tories as a party that "operates outside the rules that we set for others" is "damaging" to the party ahead of the election.

On Sunday, Home Secretary James Cleverly said that the scandal only involved a "small number of individuals" and that there was no evidence that any Cabinet officials had made their personal bets.

(With inputs from agencies)