Snooker: Stuart Bingham facing disciplinary hearing for betting

Former snooker world champion Stuart Bingham will have to go through a disciplinary hearing after betting on snooker matches. Bingham, who won the World Championship in 2015, has admitted to breaking World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) rules, which state that a professional player can not bet on snooker matches even if those games involve other players. Bingham is currently the world number three and he will most likely be given a fine by the sport's governing body disciplinary committee. "This was just a case of me not being clear on the rules," said Bingham. "I did not know I was not allowed to bet on other players' matches. I thought it was just my own I could not bet on, and I have never done that. I have nothing to hide on the matter and have co-operated fully with the investigation and I now await the outcome." WPBSA added that there is no indication of match fixing or results manipulation in Bingham's case as he only placed bets on other players' matches. In January, snooker player Alfie Burden was given a six-month ban, which was suspended for a probation period of one year, and fined five thousand pounds for placing bets worth 25 thousand pounds on snooker matches. The big difference is that Burden also placed bets on his own matches. The WPBSA disciplinary committee will set up a hearing in Stuart Bingham's case but they have not confirmed the date yet. It is unlikely that the hearing will take place before the World Championship, which kicks off on April 15 in Sheffield. Stuart Bingham is 25/1 at Bet365 to win the 2017 Snooker World Championship.