The Darts Regulation Authority (DRA) has imposed significant suspensions and fines on Leighton Bennett and Billy Warriner due to multiple charges, including match-fixing activities.
Eighteen-year-old Bennett faces an eight-year ban, while Warriner is sidelined for a decade. Both have accepted the charges and are required to pay costs amounting to £8,100.
Bennett was previously seen as a promising talent in the darts world after clinching the 2019 BDO World Youth Darts Championship at just 13 years of age.
These incidents trace back to September 2023, with four Modus Super Series matches involving Bennett drawing scrutiny after the International Betting Integrity Association highlighted suspicious betting activity.
The matches under investigation included those against Mindaugas Barauskas and Benjamin Drue-Reus on September 6, where Bennett suffered 4-1 and 4-0 defeats, respectively, as well as another contest against Barauskas and Ryan Harrington two days later.
While the majority of bets were placed online, some were made in physical betting shops located in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, home to Warriner, and Retford, Nottinghamshire, where Bennett resides.
Steve Richardson, a DRA investigator, detailed that 47 bets were placed online, with total stakes of £3,096 yielding winnings of £15,484 – a remarkable 500% profit of £12,579. Only one wager out of the 47 was unsuccessful.
The authority conducted its investigation in cooperation with the Gambling Commission’s Sports Betting Intelligence Unit, ultimately finding that both players were implicated in what was deemed “serious breaches” of conduct.
Following charges brought in August, both Bennett and Warriner were found guilty at a hearing held on November 18.
The DRA reported: “Bennett was convicted on 10 counts for fixing the four matches, supplying inside information, failing to cooperate with the investigation, and for signing with an unregistered agent.”
“Warriner accepted guilt for 19 of 21 charges, which included his involvement in match-fixing, distributing insider information, organizing bets on the matches, failure to assist with the investigation on four occasions, acting as an unregistered agent, and betting on darts.”
“He also pleaded guilty to an unrelated incident at a darts competition where he verbally assaulted an official and threatened his opponent.”
Both players have until December 14 to lodge an appeal against the verdict.
