The news will come as a welcome relief to snooker fans across the globe who have witnessed a big blow to the integrity of the game following the match fixing scandal surrounding player Stephen Lee.

The Briton has been handed a 12-year ban from the game after he was found guilty of match fixing in seven games from 2008-2009, including one in a World Championship.

Stephen Lee has been banned for 12 years after being found guilty of match fixing charges

The partnership, which was announced at the Indian Open in New Delhi, will include specific areas of activity and collaboration, including integrity training and education, monitoring of international betting on Snooker, investigation advice and support, and intelligence gathering.

Mohammed Hanzab, President of the ICSS, has said, "On behalf of the ICSS, I would like to thank the WPBSA who have already shown their commitment to safeguarding the integrity of sport.

"Whilst many acknowledge the challenges the sports industry faces, the development of comprehensive integrity programmes not only shows strong leadership, openness and transparency but the determination to eradicate behaviour that threatens the very foundation of sport and its core values."

Britain's five-time world snooker champion Ronnie O'Sullivan has also claimed Ronnie O'Sullivan that he turned down an offer of £20,000 ($32,000/€24,000) to fix a match.

Five-time world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan claims he turned down £20,000 to fix a match

Jason Ferguson, chairman of the WPBSA, claimed the agreement "demonstrates the WPBSA's commitment to integrity and our message to those who think about fixing matches is clear.

"We are watching, we will identify it, we will investigate, it has no place in our sport.

"At the WPBSA, we have already introduced a number of measures to safeguard the integrity of snooker, and we believe our global integrity partnership with the ICSS represents the next important step in the development of the WPBSA's integrity strategy.

"I look forward to working with the ICSS' Integrity team to implement the first ever programme of betting monitoring on international snooker, and also to capitalise on the unique expertise and capabilities the ICSS offers in the field of integrity."

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


Related stories
April 2013: Snooker launches bid to get into Olympics