UK football and cricket authorities hand out gambling suspensions

UK sports governing bodies have continued their clampdown on athletes and officials who gamble by dishing out several bans last week.

The most high-profile case came in cricket, where England international Brydon Carse was hit with a 16-month ban on Friday (31 May ), although 13 months of the sentence have been suspended.

Carse was found guilty of breaching the England Cricket Board’s (ECB) gambling rules, having bet on 303 cricket matches between 2017 and 2019. However, none were placed on games he participated in.

Carse, who has represented England across both the one day international and Twenty20 formats, will be available for selection again from 29 August 2024.

The ban comes after an anti-corruption investigation led by compliance body, the Cricket Regulator. Which in turn worked with the Cricket Discipline Commission to determine the punishment for the player.

Carse’s co-operation and “significant remorse” played a role in the final decision, with the 28-year-old not facing further penalties on condition he not commit any more offences over the next two years.

The evidence from the investigation also showed there were no wider integrity issues related to Carse’s bets.

The English cricket board’s rules state no player, coach or support staff is allowed to bet on any cricket match across the world.

In a statement, the ECB said: “We take these matters extremely seriously and do not condone any form of anti-corruption breach in cricket.

“We support the Cricket Regulator’s decision and its consideration of the mitigating factors in Brydon’s case. He has cooperated and shown remorse for his actions.

“We are satisfied that Brydon has shown growth in the five years since this breach and has demonstrated a greater understanding of his responsibilities.

“We are hopeful his case can serve as an educational example for other cricketers.”

Dave Lewis, Cricket Regulator interim director, called on players who have breached the sport’s gambling rules to come forward before they are found out.

He said: “The Cricket Regulator takes any breach of integrity or misconduct rules seriously and I would encourage any participant, from within the professional game, who has gambled on cricket to come forward and not wait to be discovered.

“The Cricket Regulator understands the many challenges participants can face and will handle cases fairly, with understanding and support for anyone who wishes to come forward.

“We also encourage any participant struggling with any welfare concerns to seek assistance from the PCA [Professional Cricketers’ Association] or other trusted professional source,” he added.

Elsewhere, in football, Swansea City’s player liaison officer Huw Lake was handed a one-year suspension on 31 May and fined £1,500 by Football Association (FA) for placing 2,476 wagers, amounting to almost £92,000, on football matches between 3 April 2018 and 24 September 2023.

Lake’s bets returned £84,520.15 with a total net loss of £7,437.56.

Sixty-one-year-old Lake, who has been an employee with the club since 2004, admitted to the charge, and an independent appeal board “found that the decision to suspend nine months of the suspension was unreasonable and/or so unduly lenient as to be unreasonable, and it substituted a 12-month suspension to be served in its entirety from 25 March 2024”.

In the Football Association’s (FA) investigation, it was found that a betting operator shared Lake’s details with the governing body. The FA then found Lake had accounts with five other operators.

Across seven seasons, Lake bet on 754 games in competitions Swansea City competed in and 212 of those involved the Swans. Of those bets placed, 130 were on Swansea to lose, including two bets placed related to Swansea City players.

The FA also found Lake’s wagers were placed both online and in retail shops.

The liaison officer admitted he knew not to bet on football, with Swansea having signs displayed in the club’s changing rooms reminding players not to bet and that he had received one text a season from the club reminding him gambling was not permitted.

There were also club educational meetings about gambling every season, which Lake said he did not attend.

Lake claimed he had bet out of boredom and admitted the problem began when he lost both his parents in 2018.

Elsewhere, Reading FC’s head of football operations Mark Bowen was charged by the FA for allegedly placing 95 bets on football matches between 19 April 2022 and 14 January 2024.

Meanwhile, West Ham’s Lucas Paquetá has until today, 3 June, to reply to charges from the FA relating to four yellow cards he received between 2022 and 2023.