Basketball players face heavy sanctions over match-fixing

The British Gambling Commission, British Basketball Federation (BBF) and International Basketball Federation (FIBA) have announced a series of sanctions against six basketball players after deeming they helped fix matches.

A joint investigation by the commission’s Sport Betting Intelligence Unit (SBIU), BBF and FIBA focused on the British Basketball League (BBL). The league disbanded at the end of the 2023-24 season after 38 years of competition.

This probe uncovered wrongdoing among former Surrey Scorchers players Quincy Taylor, Charleston Dobbs, Shakem Johnston, Padiet Wang and Joshua McFolley.

The players were found to have fixed matches during the 2022-23 season, including at least six Scorchers games. Incidents involved taking payments to fix the results of matches or being involved in the planning to fix games.

As such, the BBF handed lifetime bans and £3,000 ($4,080) fines to both Taylor and Dobbs. Meanwhile, Johnston and Wang were issued worldwide bans by FIBA, while McFolley was suspended until September 2034.

Zero tolerance of match-fixing

The other individual in the case was Dean Wanliss, another former player who previously played for the Scorchers. Wanliss was found to have bet on basketball matches between 2019-2021, in breach of regulations.

Wanliss was investigated by FIBA, Spanish Basketball Federation, the International Olympic Committee Monitoring Unit and the wider British betting industry. He was fined £3,000 and will serve a three-year ban from the sport.

“This case underscores the commitment of FIBA, the BBF, the Gambling Commission and other stakeholders to maintaining integrity in sport and enforcing a zero-tolerance policy toward betting-related corruption,” the commission said.