British Gambling Commission probe leads to ban of four table tennis players
The regulator investigated reports of suspicious betting on table tennis matches in Ukraine.
UK.- English table tennis has been rocked by the banning of four players following a probe by the Gambling Commission. The gambling regulator’s Sports Betting Intelligence Unit (SBIU) began an investigation into events in Ukraine dating back to 2020 after several licensed bookmakers reported suspicious betting from accounts in Britain.
The investigation was soon broadened to bring in Table Tennis England (TTE) and the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF). Four players were found to have breached TTE’s anti-corruption regulations: Luke Savill, Darius Knight, Joseph Langham-Ferreira and Kazeem Adeleke.
The players were brought before the TTE Disciplinary Committee. Knight was given a six-year suspension, while Adeleke was suspended for five years and Langham-Ferreira for three. Savill, who represented England at Junior level and won the Slovakian Junior Open in 2017, was given an indefinite suspension for a minimum of six years. They all have until April 8 to appeal.
Andrew Rhodes, chief executive of the Gambling Commission, said: “This case highlights the importance of global collaboration in protecting the integrity of sport. Over the past five years, stakeholders across multiple jurisdictions have worked together to investigate and address concerns around match-fixing.
“This demonstrates that safeguarding sport is a shared responsibility, and those who seek to manipulate outcomes face increasing scrutiny. The message is clear, integrity in sport matters, and efforts to uphold it will continue.”
Table tennis has become a popular sport for betting, particularly in recent years. However, its relative obscurity, the number of players and the lower prizes compared to some other professional sports have made it a target for match-fixing and betting fraud. In 2024, the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) reported 36 suspicious betting alerts related to the sport.
Darts player suspended for match-fixing and betting on darts in the UK
The news on the Table Tennis England suspensions comes just a week after the darts player Prakash Jiwa was banned by the UK’s Darts Regulation Authority (DRA) for eight years. Following an investigation by the Gambling Commission, he was found guilty of match-fixing and betting on darts. Jiwa’s suspension is partially backdated, so he will be able to play again in DRA events from 2031.
The IBIA had issued suspicious betting alerts on four matches in February and June 2023. Jiwa was suspended when the alerts were raised. He later admitted to betting on darts himself after being found to have deleted messages from his phone. Last year, the DRA suspended Leighton Bennett and Billy Warriner after they admitted to charges of match-fixing. Bennett was suspended for eight years and Warriner 10 years.
