Surrey Scorchers

Request

I am writing to request information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 regarding the investigation into match-fixing within British basketball during the 2022-23 season, which resulted in sanctions for several former players of the Surrey Scorchers.

Specifically, I am requesting a list of thematches identified as having been compromised or manipulated during this investigation. For each identified match, please provide:

• The date of the match.
• The opponent played by the Surrey Scorchers.
• The final score of the match.

I am not requesting personal data or details of the internal evidence used during the investigation. I am seeking only the public-facing details (dates and scores) of the specific sporting events that were determined to have been affected by corrupt activity.

If a full disclosure is not possible due to ongoing regulatory concerns, I would be grateful if you could provide the information in an anonymised or summary format that identifies the number of matches and their dates.

Response

Thank you for your request which has been processed under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA). 

In your email you have referenced the investigation into match-fixing within British basketball during the 2022-23 season, which resulted in sanctions for several former players of the Surrey Scorchers.

You have requested a list of the matches identified as having been compromised or manipulated during this investigation. Specifically, for each identified match:

The date of the match.

The opponent played by the Surrey Scorchers.

The final score of the match.

The Gambling Commission’s Sport Betting Intelligence Unit (SBIU) supported investigations into match-fixing and regulation breaches within the former British Basketball League (BBL).

The investigations were led by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and the British Basketball Federation (BBF) respectively. 

Read more about six basketball players receiving sanctions here.

I can confirm that some information relating to relevant events was shared with the SBIU by the BBF to ascertain if unusual or suspicious betting activity had been seen on GB markets. However, as this was not a Gambling Commission led investigation, we do not know whether ANY of the recorded information we hold relates to ‘compromised or manipulated’ matches. As such, no information falling within the scope of your request is held by the Gambling Commission.

Review of the decision

If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your Freedom of Information request you are entitled to an internal review of our decision. You should write to FOI Team, Gambling Commission, 4th floor, Victoria Square House, Victoria Square, Birmingham, B2 4BP or by reply to this email. 

Please note, internal review requests should be made within 40 working days of the initial response. Requests made outside this timeframe will not be processed.

If you are not content with the outcome of our review, you may then apply directly to the Information Commissioner (ICO) for a decision. Generally, the ICO cannot make a decision unless you have already exhausted the review procedure provided by the Gambling Commission. 

It should be noted that if you wish to raise a complaint with the ICO about the Commission’s handling of your request for information, then you are required to do so within six weeks of receiving your final response or last substantive contact with us.

The ICO can be contacted at: The Information Commissioner’s Office (opens in a new tab), Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.

Information Management Team
Gambling Commission