Darts player Prakash Jiwa has been handed a monster eight-year ban and told to pay back a five-figure fee. The 54-year-old was found guilty of match-fixing and contravening betting rules after his case was heard by the Darts Regulation Authority (DRA) Disciplinary Committee in January.

Jiwa has been banned from competing in any DRA-regulated events until 6 November 2031 - exactly eight years after he was suspended pending an investigation into suspicious betting patterns. He will be eligible to return on that date if he pays costs of £17,741.46 in full. The Warwickshire-born thrower, who was previously a fully-fledged PDC tour card holder, was found guilty of fixing four matches and betting on darts, but not guilty of obstructing the enquiry.

The Gambling Commission say there is no suggestion that Jiwa's opponents in those four matches were involved in breaking the rules. Jiwa has until next Wednesday, March 19, to appeal the Disciplinary Committee's punishment.

John Pierce, the Gambling Commission's Director of Enforcement, said: "All betting customers in Britain should have confidence that bets placed with licensed gambling businesses are on markets that are fair and free from betting-related corruption.

"Our Sports Betting Intelligence Unit works closely with partners such as the Darts Regulation Authority to support sporting integrity investigations and combat match-fixing. This decision sends a clear message that betting-related corruption in sport will not be tolerated."

Jiwa earned a PDC tour card through Qualifying School in 2011. The following year he reached the second round of the UK Open and the quarter-finals of Players Championship 12, where he was only narrowly beaten by three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen.

He once again made it to the quarters of a Players Championship event in 2014. Jiwa beat iconic figure Raymond van Barneveld en route to the last eight, but he was eventually whitewashed by Peter Wright.

Jiwa earned another two-year tour card between 2015 and 2017, but a sequence of poor results prevented him from rising up the PDC Order of Merit, and he eventually slid back down to the Challenge Tour.

After switching his international darting allegiance from England to India in 2022, Jiwa won his national qualifier against Nitin Kumar to book his spot at the 2023 World Darts Championship, where he made his debut at the age of 52 but lost in the first round to Madars Razma.