Players need protection from betting companies - Bingham
London - The 2015 world snooker champion Stuart Bingham apologised for breaching betting rules on Monday but added that players were over-exposed to betting companies.
The 41-year-old Englishman -- who received a six-month ban last week with three of those suspended -- said players, especially young ones, needed protecting from bookies.
"I have been exposed to all forms of gambling since I was a teenager," he said in a statement.
"Most tournaments are sponsored by betting companies. If I was not having wagers with opponents on matches then there were gaming machines in all the clubs," added Bingham, who was also fined £20,000 ($26,300) for placing bets totalling £36,000.
Bingham, who will be banned for three of the most lucrative tournaments including the Masters, said he was "truly sorry" and "did not attach sufficient importance to the rules".
However, Bingham -- who along with Irish cuesman Ken Doherty are the only players to have been crowned world champion at both amateur and professional level -- denied one of the findings that he had placed bets on matches he played in.
"In the absence of any direct evidence, the committee arbitrarily concluded that I was responsible for 50% of the betting on that account (including the bets on my matches)," said Bingham.
"I categorically deny that this was the case. I have never bet on a match in which I was playing."
