BAN UPHELD
Disgraced snooker star Mark King LOSES appeal as five-year ban and huge fine for match-fixing is confirmed
The star opened up about his problems with gambling
SNOOKER star Mark King has lost his appeal against his five-year ban for match fixing.
King was handed the ban in November 2024 and handed a £70,000 fine.
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The former Northern Ireland Open champ was found guilty of "one count of match fixing and one count of providing inside information on that match."
He appealed the decision but the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association [WPBSA] have turned it down.
A WPBSA statement read: "On 7th November 2024 the Independent Disciplinary Committee delivered its final decision in the case of the WPBSA and Mark King.
"He was found guilty of one count of match fixing and one count of providing inside information on his match played against Joe Perry on 13th February 2023. He was suspended from the sport for 5 years and ordered to pay £68,299.50 in costs.
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"Mark King appealed the decision of the Independent Disciplinary Committee and on 8th April 2025 his appeal was heard by an Independent Appeals Committee Chaired by Philip Evans KC.
"On 13th May 2025 the Independent Appeals Committee issued its decision on the Appeal. Mr King’s Appeal has been refused and the findings against Mr King regarding his match with Joe Perry and in relation to the sanction that was imposed at the original Hearing will stand.
"A decision regarding the costs of the Appeal will be made in due course."
King, 51, was initially suspended by the WPBSA in March 2023, a month after his match against Perry.
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Suspicious betting had been reported, with an investigation carried out alongside the WPBSA's bet monitoring partner Sportradar and the Sports Betting Intelligence United at the Gambling Commission.
King was then charged with "fixing the outcome of the Perry match", as well as his December 2022 game against John Higgins.
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He was also charged with "providing inside information on those matches that was used for betting."
King has opened up about his addiction ordeal, with a lifetime of gambling that even involved playing cards with a ten-year-old Ronnie O'Sullivan.
He also gambled on fruit machines with £250 jackpots, as well as bookmakers, horse and dog races in betting shops, plus roulette machines — “the absolute crack cocaine of gambling”.
King explained: “From a young age, I used to stay round my nan’s house on a Thursday. We played Yahtzee, an old-school game.
“My nan used to give me a bag of two pences. She would put them in front of me.
“But that’s how I started betting and learning that sort of stuff.
“I used to go to the snooker club in Romford, the club where Steve Davis first started.
“And I was playing on the fruit machines — all day, every day. At that time, fruit machines were 10p a go and the jackpot was £100.
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“I was only ten or 11 years old and I wasn’t allowed to play them.
“Once I put in one pound and won £16. I got four bells. I thought, ‘Oh my god, I’m rich’, and I had to run with it in my pocket to the toilet.”
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