Stuart Bingham has thanked the ‘great people’ who have given him support since he was banned from snooker for betting on matches.

Stuart Bingham. Picture by Monique Limbos

The 2015 world champion suffered the six month ban (three months suspended) in November and he is expected to return to the limelight at the end of January.

World Snooker’s governing body the WPBSA found Bingham guilty of breaching snooker rules after he made numerous bets on snooker matches totalling more than £35,000 including some of his own matches.

There was no suggestion that Bingham’s bets impacted on either his performance or the result of any match. However, it was found he made bets from accounts in his own name and in his manager’s name in recent years.

On New Year’s Eve he sent out a tweet thanking those who have been by his side during this past year which has seen him face many challenges.

The post read: “I have faced many challenges this past year but I had great people by my side. You know who you are. All I can say is Thank You.”

Bingham, who has won career prize money of almost £2.3million, has been out of action since his last appearance in the English Open which was held in the middle of October.

He is due to return to the limelight on at the end of January which will be in time for the China Open qualifiers. His first major tournament back will be the Coral Snooker Shoot Out starting on Friday, February 8.