STEWART REGAN insists the Ian Black gambling case proves the Scottish Football Association are not prepared to tolerate betting.

The Rangers midfielder was handed a three-match ban, with a further seven games suspended, for breaching rules on placing bets on games.

The independent panel saw evidence of 160 matches that Black bet on over several years but he was given a censure for punting on 147 fixtures, with his ban arising after he was found guilty on betting on games involving his club.

Gers boss Ally McCoist called for clarity on the SFA rules on gambling but chief executive Regan is satisfied with the regulations.

He said: "It was disappointing to hear comments that players didn't know the rules because the rules haven't changed for years now.

"They are very clear and our expectation is that our members will educate their employees of all of the SFA rules that are in place.

"PFA Scotland will then back that up with an educational programme, which is one of their objectives.

"Without considering the mitigating and aggravating factors in the Black case, the independent panel came up with the sanction.

"We can all have opinions on whether we think it was strong enough or not - but that was the ban that was put in place.

"From a positive point of view, it sent a clear message across Scottish football that betting is not something that we're prepared to tolerate.

"Over time, this is an area that our integrity officer will be much more focused on, we'll have more intelligence through the betting firms - and if evidence emerges to suggest that other people are doing it, we'll take action through the judiciary panel.

"In a way, the case has brought a lot of attention and profile to the issue of betting on football. If nothing else, it has heightened the issue and made it clear that players shouldn't bet, full stop."

The SFA have also come under fire recently for their disciplinary measures relating to on-field events, with Dundee United manager Jackie McNamara left furious after Gavin Gunning was carpeted for kicking out at Celtic's Virgil van Dijk.

The so-called 'trial by Sportscene' scenario has been flagged up by a number of bosses over the years, with incidents captured on television gaining a higher profile than many others than SFA Compliance Officer Vincent Lunny deals with.

Regan said: "The panel is an independent panel. Vincent does not make the decisions, he presents the facts. The facts come to us in a number of ways.

"Clearly, television is a key source of evidence, but we have a whole raft of offences that are brought to us.

"In fact, around 75% of the cases considered are outside the top tier."