Former darts prodigy Leighton Bennett has been slapped with an eight-year ban from the sport after being found guilty of match-fixing. The 18-year-old faced the Darts Regulation Authority (DRA) and was convicted on 10 counts of rigging four games.

The charges ranged from providing insider information about the fixtures, failing to assist the investigation, to signing a contract with an unregistered manager. Bennett, once hailed as the successor to Phil Taylor, will be 27 by the time his suspension ends and he can return to the oche.

His ban is set to expire on August 11, 2032, during which he is barred from any involvement in DRA-organised events. He's also been hit with a bill for £8,100.23 in costs.

READ MORE: Who did Wayne Rooney cheat on Coleen Rooney with as I'm a Celebrity star crushed

READ MORE: The number of new apprentices in Wales to fall by 6,000 this year

Fellow darts player Billy Warriner was handed a 10-year ban for his role in the scandal. Warriner is reportedly believed to have acted as a go-between for the parties involved, as well as helping to rig the four matches and organise fixed bets.

Both players were initially suspended in August after the DRA announced they were under investigation for match-fixing. The games under scrutiny took place during Bennett's stint on the Modus Super Series last year.

Evidence began to mount against Bennett when footage surfaced of him missing the board entirely while playing against Ryan Harrington, along with some highly suspicious misses on preferential doubles.

Watch the video below

The former BDO World Youth Champion, who once had the world at his feet and was expected to join Luke Littler in leading the next generation of darts, along with Warriner, have until December 14 to appeal the DRA's ruling. Bennett made history in 2019 when he became the youngest player to win the BDO World Youth Championship at just 13, and even defeated all-time great Taylor that same year, marking his rise to stardom.

Earlier in 2024, 'Boom Boom' secured his PDC Tour card and pledged to compete with World Championship runner-up Littler. However, depending on the outcome of any potential appeal, this now seems unlikely.

Warriner confessed to 19 of the 21 charges against him, which included match-fixing, providing insider information, setting up illegal bets, four counts of failing to assist the investigation, two counts of acting as an unregistered intermediary, and betting on darts. He was also convicted of threatening a competitor and insulting an official at another darts event.

Like Bennett, he has been ordered to pay £8,100.23 in damages.