The Gambling Commission’s Sports Betting Intelligence Unit (SBIU) has concluded its investigation into six former British Basketball League (BBL) players.
The investigation was conducted in partnership with the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and the British Basketball Federation (BBF), which, consequently, resulted in serious sanctions handed down for the involvement of the players in match-fixing.
The events took place between 2019 and 2023 and saw the banned players take payments to fix the results of basketball matches or directly bet on matches themselves.
Five players from the Surrey Scorchers were found to have either manipulated match outcomes or been aware of corrupt/suspicious activity without reporting it to the authorities.
As a result, the penalties issued by the SBIU ranged from lengthy suspensions to lifetime bans.
Quincy Taylor and Charleston Dobbs were both issued lifetime bans from all basketball activities in the UK and fined £3,000 ($4,074), with neither player appealing the decision.
Meanwhile, Shakem Johnston and Padiet Wang received global lifetime bans, while basketball player Joshua McFolley has been suspended until September 2034.
Dean Wallis, the sixth player, was also fined £3,000 and suspended from all basketball activities, and additionally, he has been recommended to complete integrity and anti-corruption training.
While he played for the Surrey Scorchers, Wallis was officially registered in Spain, prompting involvement from the Spanish Basketball Federation (FEB) and the International Olympic Committee’s Monitoring Unit as well.
In separate news, the Hong Kong Government is moving toward legalizing basketball betting in a bid to generate more revenues for the state budget, where after one month of public consultation process has been launched to explore the potential framework for regulation.
