Tony Bloom Pushes Back on $17.5m Claim Linked to His Betting Syndicate
The billionaire owner of the English Premier League (EPL) team Brighton & Hove Albion has denied claims that he owes $17.5 million in betting winnings to former employee Ryan Dudfield. Tony Bloom made his fortune from gambling and runs a successful betting syndicate.
He has responded in the High Court to a lawsuit from Ryan Dudfield, who claimed in a November filing that he is owed $17.5 million after introducing George Cottrell, the former chief of staff for Nigel Farage, to the betting syndicate.
Cottrell’s accounts were essential to the syndicate, as sportsbook operators significantly restrict successful gamblers. Cottrell had a reputation as a high-stakes gambler and frequently lost considerable sums. As a result, operators were more willing to accept wagers placed through his accounts.
Dudfield claims that the syndicate run by Starlizard Consulting makes about £600 million ($819 million) annually for its 100 or so members. Bloom’s legal team refutes this claim, saying that the figures are an “irrelevant exaggeration.”
Details of the Syndicate Arrangement
The High Court made Bloom’s response public on January 23. The 55-year-old confirmed that he had an agreement involving Dudfield and Cottrell.
The parties agreed to split the winnings from a Sportsbet.io account in Cottrell’s name. The syndicate was to receive 60% of the profits, with Cottrell receiving 33% and 7% allocated to Dudfield. Dudfield claims that Bloom and the syndicate excluded him from his 7% share.
The account accumulated $3.7 million in net winnings between August and December 2022. Dudfield claims he thought the arrangement between Cottrell and the syndicate ended in December 2022.
However, the relationship continued until October 2025 across five other accounts under Cottrell’s name. That resulted in an additional $2.4 million in profits, according to Bloom. Dudfield believes the proceeds were closer to $250 million, which would make his 7% stake worth $17.5 million.
Bloom’s legal team says Dudfield was not entitled to commissions after 2022. It added that only Cottrell could owe him any outstanding payments.
In the High Court filing, Bloom said that Dudfield “cashed out.” Bloom also paid him £60,000 ($81,893) as a “nuisance payment” in July 2023 to settle any outstanding claims. Their agreement allegedly contained a clause barring Dudfield from future lawsuits.
Dudfield worked at the syndicate between April 2008 and May 2017. He remained a member of the syndicate until July 2020. Bloom’s legal team claims that Dudfield’s lawsuit contains “irrelevant allegations of fact” that appear to be aimed at generating “publicity or case embarrassment”.
Concerns About Compliance
Bloom became the majority owner of Brighton & Hove Albion in 2009. He used his data analytics and statistical models, which made him a successful bettor, to build an impressive squad that finished as high as sixth in the 2022–23 EPL season.
While the English Football Association (FA) bans team owners from betting on the sport, it granted a special dispensation to anyone with previous business interests in the gambling sector. They are still not able to bet on any competitions involving their own team.
The other owners who fall under this exemption are the Coates family, which runs Bet365 and owns Stoke City. Then there’s Brentford FC owner Matthew Benham, who owns the Matchbook betting exchange and statistical gambling research firm Smartodds.
Bloom also has a 29% stake in Hearts since June 2025, with the team now top of the Scottish Premiership. He also has a 19.1% position in Melbourne Victory and a 25% stake in Belgian team Union Saint-Gilloise.
Other Allegations Against Bloom
The Guardian was barred from using the facilities given to all non-rightsholder media firms after publishing reports in early December that Bloom’s syndicate placed bets on games in which his teams were involved.
The Guardian published claims that Bloom was the “John Doe” in a U.S. case involving the offshore gambling site Rollbit. The operator’s co-founder said on X that Bloom’s syndicate was the unnamed plaintiff in the case:
He claimed that the syndicate used “shady tactics” and made seven-figure wagers on teams that the owner has a “controlling stake in”. Bloom issued a statement refuting these allegations, saying that he has not bet on Brighton since taking ownership control in 2009.
The Athletic reported on December 6 that sources revealed the syndicate bet on EPL games, but Bloom excluded his stake to ensure he complied with FA rules.
As the legal process unfolds, the dispute has brought more attention to the regulatory and ethical tensions between professional gambling and sports team ownership.
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