Bookies Snookered amid Make Match Fixing Claims

One of the biggest snooker matches of the year has been tarnished with allegations of snooker match fixing. The story centres on the first round of the UK Championship tournament between Jamie Burnett and Stephen Maguire, bookmakers closed their books on all further betting on the market when irregular snooker betting patterns became obvious and demanded the governing body; World Snooker, investigate further. Bets were flooding in for Maguire to beat Jamie Burnett 9 frames to 3; this was the eventual score which ultimately added more fuel to the match fixing flames.

The snooker players themselves have denied that there is any substance to the allegations of wrongdoing or misconduct, and in fact these betting trends were experienced some days before the start of the snooker tournament. Some have even made a counter claims that the bookies themselves are just sore losers and so have kicked up a fuss regarding snooker match fixing because they have received a bloody nose. Maguire in particular is upset at the allegations and insists that the whole situation is without any substance and will move on to the quarter final match with John Higgins with a strong will and determination to succeed, insisting that “Once you get out there on the table you forget everything, what’s been said doesn’t affect me.” Burnett himself remains adamant that his game play was nothing more than bad play on the day and asserts that his conduct has been exemplary and his performance was due to match pressures rather than any wrong doing and during an interview with the BBC stated "Snooker is too important, there is a career here."

The following press release has been posted on The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) website which shows how serious these allegations are being treated:

WPBSA Statement

The WPBSA is committed to taking all steps within its power to protect the integrity of the sport of snooker.

It takes all of the steps available to it to police and enforce those rules, including working with its contacts at the Gambling Commission, as well as putting information-sharing arrangements in place with bookmakers.

At approximately 4.50 pm on Friday 12 December, the WPBSA received a telephone call from a bookmaker, reporting an unusual pattern of bets on Stephen Maguire to beat Jamie Burnett by a frame score of 9 – 3 in a match due to take place on Sunday 14 December.

The WPBSA immediately notified its other bookmaker contacts, so that the bookmakers could alert the industry and obtain feedback in relation to bets placed on the match. It also arranged for World Snooker officials to attend and observe the match in question, and secured tapes of the match afterwards for further study.

Now that the match has been played, the WPBSA will move forward with a formal investigation. It has already instructed specialist external legal counsel to assist it in pursuing the investigation robustly and efficiently, so as to protect the integrity of the sport while at the same time respecting its obligation to treat those being investigated fairly.

As part of the investigation, information will be gathered from all pertinent parties, including the players themselves, the match officials, the bookmakers, and others, in order to determine, based on the available evidence, whether or not there is a case to answer for breach of the WPBSA’s rules. If it is determined that there is a case to answer, the WPBSA will pursue it vigorously.

Once a decision has been reached, the WPBSA will announce it. Until that time, it will not comment further on the matter, so as to avoid prejudice to the process or the people involved. In the meantime, anyone with relevant information is invited to contact the WPBSA immediately.