Two MPs received VIP tickets for the sold-out World Darts Championships courtesy of a betting company – weeks after a national outcry over politicians accepting freebies.

Labour MP James Frith, who has campaigned for safer gambling, and Conservative MP Caroline Nokes, the deputy speaker of the House of Commons, were gifted “platinum” hospitality tickets by Paddy Power worth up to £1,000 each.

Platinum packages typically include Michelin-star meals, alcohol, prime seats and table service. At face value, standard entry tickets cost up to £95.

Frith’s ticket, worth £1,000, covered his attendance at the 3 January final at Alexandra Palace in north London, won by 17-year-old Luke Littler, while Nokes received two tickets, each worth £700, for her and a plus one to attend an earlier round event on 23 December.

Both declared the gifts in the MPs’ register of interests, although Frith’s entry mentioned only that Paddy Power paid for his “attendance” at the event, which it sponsors, with no mention of hospitality. It is not clear who used Nokes’s second ticket, and a spokesperson for her would not say.

The freebies raise questions for both MPs for different reasons.

Frith has positioned himself as someone concerned about gambling harms. During Safer Gambling Week in November, he posted about the impact of gambling on his constituency of Bury North. “It’s estimated that the cost of problem gambling in Bury North is £1.6m and that one in seven people in our constituency are at risk of problem gambling,” he wrote in a Facebook post.

He also sits on the influential culture, media and sport committee, which is responsible for holding the government to account on gambling legislation.

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Paddy Power – owned by gambling company Flutter Entertainment – has previously been fined for aggressive marketing, including sending push notifications to people who had signed up to exclude themselves from gambling.

Frith said: “I always welcome the opportunity to meet industry and so it was good to meet with Flutter, hear their plans for responsible gambling and discuss their pioneering partnership at the World Darts Championship final, in support of Prostate Cancer UK – a cause very close to my heart and one I specifically involved myself in, following the approach by a constituent of mine who is living with prostate cancer.”

Nokes has previously opposed calls for tighter rules for the gambling sector, including raising concerns about affordability checks that request personal financial details such as bank statements or payslips from customers, which are designed to protect problem gamblers.

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A few weeks before the gift from Paddy Power, she had attended a charity event sponsored by the company in Westminster where MPs played darts alongside some champions. She later wrote a blogpost saying it had been “fun” and referring to Paddy Power by name. A spokesperson for Nokes said she had been “pleased to support” the event in support of the prostate cancer charity and that her visit to watch the darts had been declared “in the usual way”.

The gifts follow increased scrutiny of MPs’ acceptance of freebies from private donors – from concert and sports tickets to clothes and helicopter trips. In September, the prime minister, Keir Starmer faced claims of a conflict of interest after accepting free tickets to a Taylor Swift concert for him and his family.

It came after revelations that the singer was granted extra security, including a blue-light escort usually reserved for senior royalty and politicians. Downing Street denied there had been a conflict of interest. Several other Labour MPs also accepted Swift tickets.

That same month, Labour’s top team said it would stop taking clothes from donors after it emerged that Labour peer Waheed Alli helped fund Starmer’s work wardrobe, as well as paying for clothes for his wife, Victoria, that were not initially declared. Rachel Reeves and Angela Rayner also received donations for work outfits.

In all, more than £700,000 of free gifts and hospitality was given to MPs in the year to September 2024, an Observer analysis found. As well as the donations to Labour MPs, 141 Tory MPs received £359,891 in free gifts, including tickets paid for by the water industry and thousands of pounds of clay-pigeon shoots and helicopter rides from wealthy donors.

Campaigners say freebies raise the risk of conflicts of interest and the potential for undue influence. The Electoral Reform Society has described them as the “tip of the iceberg” and pointed out that it would be illegal for civil servants to receive similar gifts. It said: “Just as with cash donations, we must ask: what do these wealthy donors expect in return?”

Gambling companies and executives are among the biggest benefactors, with one Guardian analysis revealing the sector paid almost £225,000 in wages and freebies to 28 MPs in a single 18-month period.

The Lib Dem peer Don Foster, chair of Peers for Gambling Reform, said: “MPs absolutely must stop accepting freebies like this from the gambling industry. It’s time they realised that in doing so they give tacit approval to an industry that is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of people every year.”

A spokesperson for Flutter UK & Ireland, which owns gambling brands including Betfair, Sky Betting & Gaming and Paddy Power, said: “James Frith and Caroline Nokes are among a large number of MPs who have been passionate supporters of Paddy Power’s ‘Bigger 180’ partnership with Prostate Cancer UK – a partnership backed at this December’s World Darts Championship by Sir Chris Hoy. Like any other business, we welcome the chance to meet with MPs, showcase our partnership with Prostate Cancer UK and the considerable support we give to sports enjoyed by millions of constituents across the country.”