England’s Brighton & Hove Albion owner Tony Bloom has denied The Guardian’s allegations that he placed bets against his own team.
The publication claims that he bet on football matches, including games of the club he has owned since 2009, through his Starlizard betting syndicate.
A statement released by Bloom said: “Following an inaccurate and misleading report in The Guardian earlier this evening, I can categorically assure our supporters that I have not placed bets on any Brighton & Hove Albion matches since becoming the owner of the club in 2009.
“In 2014, in addition to new rules on betting, the [Football Association] introduced a policy with quite onerous provisions for owners of football clubs with interests in betting. These provisions allow certain football club owners, including me, to continue to bet on football under strict conditions.
“In particular, the policy prevents me from betting on any match or competition that Brighton & Hove Albion is involved in. Since 2014, I have always fully complied with these conditions, and all of my bets on football are audited by one of the world’s leading accounting firms on an annual basis to ensure full compliance with The FA’s policy.”
Bloom founded Starlizard Consulting in 2006. The company develops statistical models that give bettors an advantage in football betting markets. This data is then used to generate bets for his betting syndicate, which is claimed to earn around £600m per year.
Known as “The Lizard” during his poker career, Bloom has reportedly amassed more than £1.3bn, primarily through the Starlizard syndicate and his investments.
At the same time, Bloom is involved in legal proceedings on both sides of the Atlantic. The allegations related to betting on Brighton stem from a case filed by Rollbit’s parent company, Bull Gaming NV, against James Hopkins and an unknown “John Doe” in Curaçao. The crypto casino alleges that Hopkins used his Rollbit account to place bets on behalf of the syndicate.
Although Bloom is not named in the lawsuit, Rollbit’s founder, known as Razer, posted on X claiming that the Brighton owner is the unnamed individual in the case and that his syndicate placed “multi-million dollar bets” on teams in which Bloom holds a controlling interest.
In addition to Brighton & Hove Albion, Bloom has financial interests in Belgian side Union Saint-Gilloise, Scottish club Hearts, and Australian A-League team Melbourne Victory.
As Bloom mentioned, he is one of the few owners in English football who is permitted by the FA to bet on football, provided he does not place bets on his own teams or on competitions in which they participate.
Rollbit filed a motion with the U.S. District Court in California seeking to obtain data from the cryptocurrency exchange Kraken regarding the accounts of Hopkins and John Doe. However, the judge rejected the request, though the dispute is ongoing.
Meanwhile, in the UK, a High Court case has been brought against the Starlizard syndicate by former associate Ryan Dudfield, who claims he is owed around $17.5m under a profit-sharing agreement. Court documents state that Dudfield’s role involved introducing the syndicate to George Cottrell, who allowed the group to use his betting accounts to place wagers on football and other sports through Stake.com. Dudfield and Cottrell then received a share of the winnings generated through those accounts. However, Dudfield alleges that activity on the accounts continued even after the syndicate told him that Cottrell’s accounts were no longer in use.
The documents also claim that Bloom’s syndicate uses frontmen, including “footballers, sportsmen and businessmen,” to place large bets.
Following The Guardian’s reports, MPs including Clive Betts, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Football, have called on the FA to conduct a “comprehensive investigation” into the allegations.
Iain Duncan Smith, former leader of the Conservative Party and chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Gambling Reform, has likewise urged the FA to be “much more transparent about their lax policy regarding the use of gambling money in running clubs.”
In his statement, Bloom confirmed that his lawyers had contacted The Guardian on his behalf regarding the “entirely false allegations,” and that Brighton remains in direct contact with both the FA and the Premier League. Guardian reporters and photographers were also banned from attending Brighton & Hove Albion’s match against West Ham United on Sunday, which ended in a 1:1 draw.
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