BINGHAM IN BETTING BAN

FORMER world snooker champion Stuart Bingham has been banned for three months for betting on matches, including 36 of his own.

Bingham, 41, was yesterday given a six-month ban by the governing body, the WPBSA – with three months and a day suspended – for betting more than £35,000 on matches.

An enquiry which dragged on for almost a year found that he used a third-party account, owned by his manager Gary Purkiss, to bet on 36 of his own matches between 2003 and 2015.

He also placed bets on matches involving other players using his own and his manager’s accounts.

But the hearing, independently chaired by Nottingham Forest chairman Nicholas Randall QC, decided there ® was no evidence of any corruption. A WPBSA statement read: “There is no suggestion whatsoever that Stuart Bingham was doing anything to influence match outcomes or engaged in any corrupt activity.”

Bingham (below) can return on January 26 if he does not reoffend. Ronnie O’Sullivan felt Bingham escaped lightly, tweeting: “He’s had a result... #no consistency. He bet on his own matches.” Stephen Lee was banned for 12 years in 2013 but, unlike Bingham, he was found guilty of match-fixing.

Bingham is the fourth player to be punished in 2017 for betting after Alfie Burden, Joe Perry and Kurt Maflin all received suspended bans of between three and six months.