Gambling Commission probes Sun Bets over FA Cup novelty bet

Sun Bets is being investigated by the Gambling Commission over potential integrity issues after it took bets on Sutton United reserve goalkeeper Wayne Shaw’s pie-eating stunt.

The London-based betting brand inked a special one-game sponsorship deal with Sutton for its televised FA Cup fixture and promoted a special bet on Shaw to eat a pie live on air during the game at odds of 8/1.

Shaw, who told press he was aware of the market, was caught on camera eating a pie in the second half of the match against Arsenal.

As a result the Commission is now investigating the incident to establish whether Sun Bets was taking wagers on an event it knew the outcome of.

Richard Watson, Gambling Commission enforcement and intelligence director, said: “Integrity in sport is not a joke and we have opened an investigation to establish exactly what happened.

“As part of that we’ll be looking into any irregularity in the betting market and establishing whether the operator has met its licence requirement to conduct its business with integrity.”

Sun Bets operator Tabcorp said in a statement: “As a responsible operator, we are investigating the allegations that have been made and are liaising with the UKGC in accordance with our licence conditions. Until our investigation is complete, it is inappropriate to comment further on the specifics of this matter, however we continue to be committed to ensuring that integrity is at the forefront of our business as a serious and important issue for all operators.”

Shaw himself is under investigation by the FA and could have contravened FA betting rules which state a player should not “instruct, permit, cause or enable” any person to bet the “result, progress, conduct or any other aspect of, or occurrence in, a football match or competition.”

The Gambling Commission sent a letter to operators last June warning them about integrity issues when taking bets on novelty markets.