Emmanuel Ikakah suspended and fined for betting on tennis
Unranked Nigerian player will serve a three month suspension and pay a $500 fine after admitting to betting breaches
Nigerian tennis player Emmanuel Ikakah has been suspended and fined after admitting to betting on tennis matches, a breach of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP).
The 36-year old unranked player admitted to placing 13 bets on professional tennis matches in May 2017. None of the wagers involved matches he played in and there were no other breaches of integrity rules associated with the offence.
In a ruling published by independent Anti-Corruption Hearing Officer Richard H. McLaren on 15 February 2019, Mr Ikakah was suspended for six months and fined $5,000. Three months of the ban and $4,500 of the fine are suspended provided the player commits no further breaches of the TACP.
This means that with effect from 15 February 2019 Mr Ikakah cannot compete in, or attend, any tournament or event organised or sanctioned by the governing bodies of the sport. Assuming no further offences are committed, he will be eligible to resume playing tennis from 14 May 2019.
The relevant section of the 2017 TACP which relates to betting offences is:
D.1.a: No Covered Person shall, directly or indirectly, wager or attempt to wager on the outcome or any other aspect of any Event or any other tennis competition.
The Tennis Integrity Unit is an initiative of the Grand Slam Board, the International Tennis Federation, the ATP and the WTA, who are jointly committed to a zero tolerance approach to corruption in tennis.
Published 16 February 2019 15:00
