Earthquake in the Premier League: a €650 million illegal betting network allegedly run by a famous patron
English football is rocked by a scandal of major proportions. Tony Bloom (55), the owner and president of the Brighton club, is accused of having coordinated a secret illegal betting network, estimated at 650 million euros, which would have placed bets on football matches, according to the publication sportal.gr.
Earthquake in Premier League | PHOTO Facebook
Billionaire Tony Bloom owns racehorses and has a significant stake in Hearts in Scotland. In the betting world, he is known by the nickname “The Lizard” after building his fortune as a professional punter.
In 2014, he was granted a special license by the English Football Association, which allowed him to operate the Starlizard consultancy and legally bet on football matches, provided he did not bet on his own teams or the competitions in which they play.
Tony Bloom's bets, verified annually
So far, Tony Bloom's bets have been audited annually by accounting firms and the federation, with no finding of wrongdoing. However, the case takes a new dramatic turn. Bloom and the Tony Bloom Betting Syndicate are now being sued by Ryan Dadfield, a former employee of Starlizard.
Dadfield claims he is owed €18 million of the total profits of €195 million generated by the network through the accounts of George Cottrell, a person he himself put in touch with Bloom's syndicate.
In the complaint, Dadfield states that he agreed to “place bets on sporting events, primarily football matches,” using “secret, exotic” offshore accounts belonging to Cottrell.
The network, described as “extremely successful”, is said to have used accounts of “well-known footballers, athletes and business people”, although there is no evidence that former footballers were involved. Its profits are estimated to exceed €600 million annually, and Bloom is described as the “boss of the network” and “the only real beneficiary of the bank accounts” where the money is deposited.
The Nigel Farage link and offshore accounts
The scandal also takes on a political dimension. Tony Bloom would have used Nigel Farage, former leader of the right-wing Reform UK party and one of the architects of Brexit, as a front to cover up the network's operations.
The syndicate operated through the offshore accounts of Cottrell, who was sentenced eight years ago to eight months in prison for trying to launder money for traffickers through the dark web.
