Ryan Bowman given 42-month ban for football betting offences

The 33-year-old former Carlisle United striker admitted to making 6,397 bets on football between June 2015 and September 2023.

His punishment has been confirmed by the Football Association after an FA Commission investigated.

Bowman, who most recently played for Cheltenham Town, placed a number of bets on games in which he was participating.

Many other bets were spot bets, concerning particular things to happen in a game.

Bowman said he took “full responsibility” as he admitted all the charges.

An independent regulatory commission sat on Thursday, March 13 to assess Bowman’s gambling offences.

He was found to have committed a “very significant breach” of Rule E8, which states that players should not bet on matches.

Bowman’s large series of bets took place in many consecutive seasons in his career, the FA’s written reasons reveal.

In 2014/15 the former Carlisle youth team player placed two bets whilst with Torquay United, and a further 191 bets on games whilst with Gateshead in 2015/16.

In 2018/19 it was found that Bowman placed 153 bets whilst with Exeter City, two of which involved Exeter games.

In 2019/20, a further 65 bets were placed or “enabled” by Bowman during a further season with Exeter.

And in 2020/21 the striker placed an extraordinary 2,598 bets, again during his time at Exeter – 106 of which concerned games involving his own club.

Bowman then placed 1,948 bets during his next spell with Shrewsbury Town, 147 of which involved Shrewsbury games.

The offences are not linked to Bowman's time as a youth player and young pro at Carlisle (Image: LOUISE PORTER)

In 2022/23 he placed 1,259 more bets whilst at Shrewsbury, 92 involving his own club, and then made another 181 bets the following season, four of which involved his club.

None of the offences involved Bowman's earlier time at Carlisle United, as a youth team player then a first-year professional.

The investigation saw the FA serve a witness statement from their betting integrity investigator and integrity investigator, as well as analysis from Bowman’s phone records, while his bank account details were also analysed.

Bowman himself offered a witness statement and a defence case and mitigation summary prepared by the Professional Footballers’ Association.

In his statement, Bowman said: “I am taking full responsibility for all the 6,397 bets” and accepted all the charges.

It was found that Bowman had betted AGAINST Shrewsbury at certain times when he played for the club, while he had also betted on Exeter and Shrewsbury during his spells at the clubs, as well as spot-betted on himself to score.

The commission heard that Bowman’s 6,397 bets saw a total stake of £203,758.57, which resulted in returns of £182,189.85 and a net loss of £21,548.72.

It was also found that Bowman had deleted some data from his phone despite being told by the FA not to do so as the investigation continued.

Bowman, when interviewed, said he had “panicked” and deleted certain conversations from his device. He added: “I thought I'd try and hide it and then it would not come out. Obviously, I know the severity of it and football's what I love doing and I thought, 'If these messages show up to you guys, then obviously I'd been in big trouble and it could jeopardise my career,' but I just wasn't thinking straight.”

The commission added that, in their view, Bowman had not been “forthcoming at FA interview until confronted with irrefutable evidence." They also said the striker had sought to “obfuscate and mislead” and had “outright lied” at times.

He initially claimed that he could not remember making certain bets but, when evidence was presented, he admitted: “There’s no excuse, I knew the rules and I’ve messed up big time.”

His eventual admission only offered “limited mitigation,” the commission added.

The commission also considered certain personal circumstances of Bowman, though details on these are redacted in the written reasons.

Regarding his punishment, the commission felt that a fine would not be appropriate, given the impact a ban “will have on his ability to earn a living, allied to the responsibilities he has.”

In the end a ban from all football and football related football activity for a period of four years, reduced by mitigation to three years and six months, was served.

Bowman, who grew up in the Yewdale area of Carlisle and went to St Aidan's School, came through the Blues’ youth ranks and earned a professional deal with the club before leaving in 2011.

He has also played for Darlington, Hereford United, York City and Motherwell.

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