Australian snooker badboy Quinten Hann is set to return to the professional circuit despite being under investigation for match fixing.

A British newspaper earlier this year alleged the Wagga Wagga player offered to throw a match for STG50,000 ($A120,500) following an undercover operation by reporters.

Fellow Australian Neil Robertson told the same newspaper that Hann had asked him to throw a match for money, although Hann himself refutes all the claims.

It was assumed a disciplinary hearing would be held before the first ranking tournament of the new season, the Grand Prix, which starts on October 8 in Preston.

However, the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association, the governing body of the sport, are yet to set a date for Hann to answer the charges.

It means the 28-year-old is free to compete in the Grand Prix, unless a hearing can be hastily convened in the next three weeks.

"If nothing has happened before the Grand Prix, Quinten will be allowed to play based on the principle of innocent until proven guilty," a WPBSA spokesman said.

If Hann, who starts the new campaign ranked 22nd in the world, is found guilty of conspiring to fix a match he can expect a lengthy ban.

The only previous case of proven match rigging in snooker saw South African Peter Francisco receive a five-year suspension following unusual betting patterns on his match against Jimmy White at the 1995 World Championship.

Hann's career has been dogged by controversy.

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP