Andy Jenkins handed 11-year ban for match-fixing in Modus Super Series

Andy Jenkins has been handed an 11-year ban from competitive darts after being found guilty of match-fixing in the Modus Super Series.

Jenkins, a former PDC World Championship semi-finalist, was found guilty by the DRA of fixing 12 matches between February 2022 and July 2023 and also passing information on to bettors.

The 54-year-old had denied match-fixing but admitted placing 88 bets on matches between March 2022 and May 2023, for which he received an additional 12-month suspension.

Jenkins has also been fined £17,580 and has until May 6 to appeal against the decision.

The ban is the longest ever imposed by the DRA for match-fixing and has been backdated to November 2023, preventing Jenkins from playing in or being involved in any way with any DRA event until November 15, 2034.

The fixed matches included ties against Robert Thornton, Andreas Toft Jorgensen and Adam Mould in August 2022, against Darren Johnson, Peter Manley and Paul Hogan in February 2023 and John Desreumaux, Scott Walters, Dom Taylor, Johnny Haines, Robin Beger and Johan Van Velzen in July 2023.

There is no suggestion that the other players in the matches in question were involved in any way.

As well as efforts to fix the result or score, Jenkins was also found to have provided information to other persons for betting purposes that he would not throw any 180s in the matches in question.

The 88 bets he had placed on matches amounted to a total stake of £2,438, returning a profit of £266.

Jenkins becomes the latest player to receive a DRA ban for match-fixing in the Modus Super Series, with Leighton Bennett having been suspended for eight years last November and Prakash Jiwa also handed an eight-year ban for fixing four matches.

Modus Super Series released a lengthy statement on social media on Wednesday in response to the latest case:

‘Modus Super Series welcomes the decision of the darts regulation authority (DRA) in the case of Andy Jenkins.

‘We are fully supportive of the outcome and hope that the severity of the punishment will act as a deterrent against future offences in relation to betting and match fixing.

‘Modus Super Series works tirelessly to ensure the integrity of our event, everybody involved and the sport of darts is protected.

‘We are regulated by the DRA and governed by their rules, including those relating to anti-corruption and betting integrity, as is every player that appears in the Modus Super Series.

‘Further to this, we have invested considerably in a betting integrity and anti-corruption module, which every player completes before appearing in the tournament.

‘This provides education and a subsequent exam to ensure that it has been understood. mobile phones are also forbidden during the hours of play.

‘The integrity module is also completed by every person who ever has a professional engagement with the Modus Super Series.

‘Every player that plays in the Modus Super Series also signs a contract, acknowledging the DRA rules, including those in relation to gambling and are made aware in no uncertain terms that gambling on darts is forbidden for anybody involved with the product in any capacity.

‘We are incredibly disappointed, frustrated and infuriated that, despite these thorough efforts, a small minority of players have chosen to break these rules and have being found guilty of breaches in relation to betting integrity.

‘We fully support the investigations of the DRA, Gambling Commission and any criminal proceedings and condemn in the strongest possible terms the perpetrators of these breaches. in addition to any punishment enforced by the DRA, we have also concluded that the guilty parties will be banned permanently from appearing in the Modus Super Series.

‘While these incidents are disappointing, the punishments are correctly severe and represent an anti-corruption system that is working, with 99% of players understanding and following the rules while the small minority who have broken them have been investigated, caught and punished.

‘There have been no new cases since 2023, with over 7,000 matches played in that period.

‘We work closely with all our partners to ensure this process continues and will strive do even more to discourage the scourge of betting integrity breaches and corruption.

‘This case shows that anybody who chooses to breach the rules are caught and are punished accordingly.

‘All associated with the modus super series are fully aware of what to do if they find themselves compromised and where support is available if they are experiencing problems in relation to gambling.

‘In the knowledge that all of this information is provided to and acknowledged by everybody associated with the Modus Super Series in any capacity, we will continue to take a zero-tolerance approach to any breaches of betting integrity rules.’

Jenkins, who began his career in the BDO in 1994, reached the semi-finals of the PDC World Championship at the Circus Tavern in 2007, as well as two World Matchplay quarter-finals, the 2002 World Grand Prix semi-finals and the 2004 UK Open semi-finals.

Since losing his Tour Card in 2017, Jenkins has competed on the amateur circuit and notably featured in the 2023 World Seniors Championship, losing in Round Two to Richie Howson.

Jenkins is no stranger to controversy, having received a ban for almost two years for an assault on Terry Jenkins during a non-televised PDC tournament in 2009.

He was also issued a suspended ban by the DRA in 2019 after a spat with Mario Robbe at the UK Open, as well as directing homophobic language towards a match official during a Challenge Tour match.