Betting scandals have been all the talk in recent days with allegations that Bulldogs prop Ryan Tandy was a central figure in a betting plunge in Canterbury's meaningless round-24 game against North Queensland while the Pakistan cricket team have again been caught up in match fixing allegations.

Following a massive plunge on the usually minor betting option of a North Queensland penalty goal being the first scoring play, the NRL have opened an investigation into the match with Ryan Tandy being accused of having an involvement in the plunge with Tandy spilling the ball on the first tackle of the match before conceding a penalty right under the posts.

Meanwhile, a man has been arrested in England after a News of the World investigation caught cricket agent Mazhar Majeed correctly predicting when three no-balls would be bowled in the most recent Pakistan-England Test match with bowlers Mohammed Asif and Mohammad Ameer along with captain Salman Butt all being questioned by police.

These two scandals have the power to bring both rugby league and cricket to their knees and more than one career could be ended if anyone is found to have been involved with gambling on matches.

Here are BPL's 10 biggest betting scandals in the history of sport:

10. John the Bookmaker

In 1994 Australian batsman Mark Waugh and champion leg spinner Shane Warne provided pitch and weather information to an Indian bookmaker only named as John in exchange for US$9,000 with John the Bookmaker also allegedly requesting information on team lineups and tactics but were reportedly told by both Waugh and Warne that this would not be possible. The pair was fined by the Australian Cricket Board, who attempted to cover the scandal up. The story broke in 1998 yet no further punishments were handed down despite widespread calls for lengthy bans.

9. Pete Rose

In his heyday, "Charlie Hustle" Pete Rose was a baseball demigod, particularly in his hometown of Cincinnati where he starred for the Reds in his 19 seasons as a player and 6 as a manager, leading the team to back-to-back World Series wins in 1975 and 1976. Rose is the all-time hits leader, the all-time games played leader, a winner of the Most Valuable Player award and a 17-time All-Star. Rose, however, is not in the Hall of Fame after being banned for life from the game for betting on baseball including games in which he played and games in which he managed. Although a report commissioned by Major League Baseball found that there was no evidence that Rose never bet against his team, he remains permanently banned from the sport.

8. Jimmy Gauld

Scottish soccer player Jimmy Gauld was the lead figure of a betting scandal which broke in 1964 where a number of British soccer matches were fixed or interfered with. Gauld arranged players from Sheffield Wednesday and Mansfield to bet against their own team and then ensure their team lost. The scam was revealed when Gauld sold his story to the Sunday People newspaper. Gauld received a four year prison sentence while nine other players were also jailed. All ten players convicted were banned for life by the Football Association.

7. 2006 Italian Soccer Scandal

Police uncovered widespread corruption at the highest levels of Italian soccer in May 2006 in what is the biggest gambling scandal to hit Italian sport. It was found that a number of Serie A managers and refereeing officials fixed matches by manipulating refereeing appointments. Five clubs received hefty penalties including Juventus, the reigning champions who were relegated to Serie B and docked 9 points as well as being stripped of their 2005 and 2006 titles. Fiorentina, AC Milan, Lazio and Reggina all had points deducted among other punishments. Nineteen individuals received punishments ranging from fines and three month bans to the lifetime ban of Juventus manager Luciano Moggi and the three year prison sentence of Juventus chairman Antonio Giraudo.

6. Hansie Cronje

Hansie Cronje's life was shattered in 2000 when Indian police released tape recordings of Cronje and the head of an Indian betting syndicate discussing cricket that centred on match fixing. Just over two years later and Cronje's life was over with the former South African cricket captain dying in a plane crash. Cronje was a staple of post-apartheid South African cricket, playing in the 1992 World Cup and assuming the full-time captaincy in 1994. He remained captain until the scandal broke in 2000 where Cronje was found to have offered money to fellow players Herschelle Gibbs, Nicky Boje, Peter Strydom and Henry Williams to perform to a certain level in order to allow punters to win microbets. He also received money to ensure South Africa lost matches with allegations dating back to 1996 suggesting Cronje was prepared to take money to throw matches. He was banned from cricket for life in October 2000.

5. The 1951 Point Shaving Scandal

The size and scope of the college basketball point shaving scandal that came to light in 1951 and cast a pall of the sport for many years was extraordinary with 86 matches involving 7 schools and 35 players alleged to have been fixed between 1947 and 1951. The floodgates opened when Manhattan player Junius Kellogg was offered a bribe by a teammate on behalf of a gambling syndicate, an offer Kellogg told his coach and the police about. Soon thereafter the teammate was arrested and not long after that the three star players of the NCAA and NIT champion City College New York team were arrested. The arrests continued with many big names involved including Sherman White, "perhaps New York college basketball's best player ever" according to ESPN, Jack Molinas and Ralph White. White served nine months in prison and was banned for life from the NBA while Molinas and White were also banned from the NBA. The champion 1951 Kentucky team was prohibited from playing any games in 1952-53.

4. Bruce Grobbelaar

Liverpool goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar's career came crashing down in 1994 after 440 games in 15 seasons at Anfield when The Sun newspaper led with the story that Grobbelaar was involved in match-fixing. It was alleged that Grobbelaar, along with two other players and a Malaysian businessman, had fixed English Premier League matches including the 1993 Liverpool-Newcastle clash and a failed attempt to fix a match against Manchester United with The Sun catching Grobbelaar on tape accepting money and admitting to match-fixing. Grobbelaar's two trials resulted in hung juries but he was bankrupted in a libel case against The Sun. Grobbelaar went to Southampton soon after the scandal broke and drifted around the English lower leagues for another five seasons before retiring.

3. Tim Donaghy

NBA referee Tim Donaghy was revealed to have deliberately miscalled games he officiated in as well as provided other confidential information on refereeing appointments to gamblers in order to pay off gambling debts he owed to illegal bookies. Donaghy became the subject of an FBI investigation after allegedly being ratted out by one such bookie and it was found that Donaghy had influenced the results of games he referees over the last two seasons of his career, mainly ensuring the over in total points betting won by calling an above average number of fouls. Donaghy denies he ever ensured a team won or lost a match. Donaghy was jailed for 15 months and the NBA has cracked down on gambling in all forms by its officials.

2. The Fine Cotton Ring-In

In 1984 at Eagle Farm a horse called Fine Cotton was backed from 33-1 into 7-2 in a nationwide plunge that would have taken $1.5 million from bookies around the country. The plunge shocked those not in on the sting as Fine Cotton was going like the proverbial busted heading into the race. Fine Cotton went on to win the race by a nose but alarm bells had already been rung and it was soon found that Fine Cotton was an open class horse known as Bold Personality. The ring-in was originally set to involve a horse who looked identical to Fine Cotton but an injury to that galloper forced the conspirators to use Bold Personality, a galloper of a different colour and markings who had hair colouring and paint applied to fix the difference. Stewards opened an investigation immediately after the race with trainer Hayden Haitana warned off by the Queensland Turf Club along with five others. Haitana was also jailed. The Australian Jockey Club warned off a further eight including bookmakers Bill and Robbie Waterhouse, who were finally allowed back on course in 1998. The Fine Cotton Ring-In remains the most infamous sporting swindle in Australian history.

1. The 1919 Black Sox Scandal (pictured)

The most infamous betting scandal in sports history was the fixing of the 1919 World Series by the Chicago White Sox with a number of White Sox players doing so after being paid off by mobster and gambler Arnold Rothstein. Driven by a dislike of team owner Charles Comiskey for his tightness with money, a faction of players conspired to throw the World Series against the Cincinnati Reds. Rumours circulated prior to the series that it was fixed and the White Sox duly lost the series 5-3. Cincinnati were bet from big outsiders to favourites before a pitch had been thrown. Eight players were banned from baseball for life including ringleader Arnold "Chick" Gandil and star hitter "Shoeless" Joe Jackson even after they were acquitted at trial. All admitted their involvement except Jackson and Buck Weaver.