Teen darts sensation Leighton Bennett has been handed an eight-year ban from the sport for a number of charges, including match-fixing.
In August, Bennett was suspended after the International Betting Integrity Association reported suspicious betting on four of his matches in the Modus Super Series in 2023.
Bennett, 18, was found guilty of 10 charges following an investigation by the Darts Regulation Authority (DRA). Alongside the teenager, Billy Warriner has also been given a ten-year suspension by the sports governing body.
Following the investigation, the DRA decided “both players had a case to answer for serious breaches” of its rules.
The DRA stated: “Bennett was found guilty of 10 charges for fixing the four matches, providing inside information on the matches, failing to assist an investigation and for signing a contract with an unregistered agent.”
“Warriner admitted 19 of 21 charges for being concerned in fixing the four matches, providing inside information and organising betting on the matches, four counts of failing to assist the investigation, two counts of acting as an unregistered agent and betting on darts.
Performances under the microscope
Bennett burst onto the darting scene when at 13 years old he became the youngest BDO Youth World Champion and subsequently earned a card on the professional PDC Tour earlier this year.
As part of the DRA’s investigation, former professional darts player Ritchie Gardner gave an independent assessment of Bennett’s performances and concluded that his level of performance was at times “well below that which he would have expected of him”.
All four of the games in question were streamed on YouTube, including the match below which saw Bennett lose 4-1 to Ryan Harrington.
According to the DRA, a total of 47 online bets were made, with a further 19 made on retail betting terminals. Overall, £16,994.66 was wagered on the matches, returning a profit of £14,470.28.
Both Bennett and Warriner have been ordered to pay £8,100 each in costs and have until 14 December to appeal.
