Tony Bloom Named in Legal Case Over Alleged $800m Betting Syndicate

^{Pictured: Tony Bloom}

Brighton & Hove Albion owner Tony Bloom has been named in a high court claim alleging that he headed a betting syndicate generating around £600 million (about $800m) in winnings each year, The Guardian reports.

The claim was filed by Ryan Dudfield, a former employee at Starlizard Consulting, Bloom’s betting analytics company. Dudfield alleges he took part in the syndicate’s operations and had an agreement entitling him to 7% of its profits, which he claims he never fully received.

According to the filing, the syndicate placed large wagers through online betting accounts registered to various individuals. One of these accounts allegedly belonged to George Cottrell, a former aide to British politician Nigel Farage.

George Cottrell (left) and British politician Nigel Farage (right)

Cottrell is said to have handed control of his betting accounts to members of the group, who used them to place wagers. The filing claims he received one-third of the winnings, while any losses were covered by the syndicate.

A significant portion of the bets was allegedly placed through the offshore bookmaker Stake.com.

The documents also suggest that accounts belonging to well-known public figures were used to avoid detection and prevent bookmakers from restricting stakes due to unusually high bet sizes.

Dudfield says he was the one who introduced Cottrell to the group and helped identify sporting events for wagering. He claims he was later told the syndicate had ceased operating, but subsequently noticed fresh betting activity on the same accounts — concluding the operation had continued without him, allegedly depriving him of his profit share.

The filing notes that Tony Bloom is permitted to place bets, having received formal approval from the English Football Association (FA) in 2014. Under FA rules, he is barred only from betting on Brighton matches and Premier League fixtures. His betting activity is reviewed annually by the FA and an external auditor, with no breaches reported.

The claim further alleges that the syndicate may have included more than 100 members, and that some Starlizard Consulting employees were granted access to its operations as part of their compensation packages.

Earlier, Gambling Park reported on the criminal charges brought against former Entain executives, including ex-CEO Kenny Alexander, following a UK investigation into the company’s operations.