SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Elgin City striker Kane Hester has been found to have over £2,000 in his bedside drawer, a trial heard, following accusations made that he plotted to defraud bet365.
The Scottish league footballer has been accused of intentionally getting booked during a match against Hibernian in a plan to defraud the bookmaker, which involved three of his friends, but has denied the claims.
Crown and defence lawyers established that the 27-year-old had received a yellow card during the first half of the Scottish League Cup game, whilst the three others involved had carried out several financial transactions just before the July 2019 match, of which Willie Collum was the referee.
Reports have outlined that Hester, along with Findlay Soutar, Calvin Parrot and Brodie Myles, are accused of obtaining unlawful winnings of £13,583 through five separate bets.
The BBC reported that Fiscal deputy Stewart Duncan said it was agreed as fact that ‘Myles had paid money into Soutar’s account and also into an account belonging to Parrott’.
The bookmaker had paid out winnings at odds of 5/1, of which Duncan said it was agreed that combination bets were also placed and won.
An alternate version alleges that the alleged group cheated by placing five bets on Hester being booked and that he was shown a yellow card for a foul – leading to them falsely obtain £13,583.32 in winnings.
The initial accusations came at a time as integrity fell increasingly under the spotlight of international sporting authorities, with the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) revealing that football recorded a 25% increase in suspicious betting activity between 2019 to 2020.
This season, Hester has scored 12 goals in 22 games for Elgin City and has been booked four times and sent off once.
