Home » Poker News » Tony Bloom Gambling to Keep Brighton in Premier League
Tony Bloom started by betting mainly on football and cricket – the two most popular sports in the UK. At one point, Bloom lost £5,000 while betting on the 1994England v West Indies cricket test match. This was the lowest point in his gambling career at that point. Arguably the UK’s most notorious sports bettor, Tony Bloom, is the owner of Starlizard, a company that describes itself as a betting consultancy. Based out of Camden, London, Starlizard is also the sole adviser for Bloom’s betting syndicate, who every weekend have £1 million riding on any given football game.
Saturday, September 9th, 2017 Written by Shane Larson
Tony Bloom has been hailed as one of the top poker players in the world, and over the years has mixed it up at the tables against such greats a Phil Ivey and Daniel Negreanu. Although the exact amount of wealth he has acquired through his poker, sportsbetting and gambling enterprises is not known, the notoriously private gambler is believed to be a billionaire.
Tony Bloom is one such individual who, by his own admission, has been gambling for over 20 years. He first went into a bookmaker at the age of 15. For a while, he was even a professional poker player and came fourth, winning £25,000, in the first ever live 'Poker Million' tournament in 2000. Some of the world’s leading professional gamblers, such as the legendary Tony Bloom, even have a team of statisticians and number crunchers working for them covering a wide range of sports. However, you need some serious cash to employ a team like that.
After all of his success, though, Bloom is now gambling in a whole new way–on the Brighton and Hove Albion Football Club. And not as a sports bettor either. Instead, Bloom serves as the Chair and owner of the team, and is betting big on keeping his side in the Premier League. In fact, since acquiring Brighton, Bloom has already invested more than £200 million in the club.
Gambling Past
The 47-year-old has been gambling since he was 15, and he has loved football for just as long. His grandfather was the vice Chairman of Brighton and was fond of horse and dog racing. As a result, Bloom credits the man as the source of his gambling genes, with Bloom having attended games alongside his father and grandfather, sitting in the luxurious director’s box throughout the action.
“My grandad Harry who was vice chairman [of Brighton] for all of the 1970s, he had a big interest in betting,” explains Bloom, “but more horse racing and dogs, betting on football wasn’t really around when he was growing up. I think that comes down genetically to some extent so I probably get it from him. I bet on Brighton occasionally growing up. To be quite clear, that was when I had no involvement!”
As the owner, he now travels by train to watch the team play in the stands alongside other players, and has said that’s the way he prefers to see the club.
Brighton Acquisition
Bloom purchased Brighton 11 years ago from Dick Knight, using money from his gambling winnings and from the founding of Premier Bet. He then invested in funds for a new stadium and practice facility, all with one goal in mind–getting the team up to standards so they could be admitted into the Premier League. That in and of itself was quite the gamble, as there was no guarantee that his efforts would be successful.
The investments meant that Brighton operated in the red for two years straight, but posting losses of £25 to £30 million per year did not phase Bloom. As a seasoned gambler, he weighed the potential of risk and reward and decided it was worth the bet.
Checkered Past
Brighton has had struggles on the field as well. Injuries reduced the team to a bare bones lineup at one point, and a few years back the team was at the very bottom of the rankings of League One. Still, the football club has since rebounded, and for three years, Brighton has reached the top tier of the Championship league, and although they did not get promoted automatically, after several attempts, it was still quite a feat.
That all changed at the end of last season, and now that Brighton is a part of the Premier League, the gamble is far from over. In fact, many feel that the odds of the team staying up and remaining competitive are low. Bloom does not seem to be concerned, though. Much as he does at the poker tables, he remains focused on the win and isn’t letting the speculation and risk shake his confidence. Only time will tell if he and his football club can beat the odds, but with Bloom’s mix of well-calculated strategy and gambler’s luck, those who want to bet against him may wish to think twice.
Story So Far
As of September 9th, Brighton are currently lying at number 17 in the Premier League on just 1 point, having secured one draw and no wins from three games. It still early days, though, and Brighton’s initial games have been against tough opposition, including Manchester City and Leicester. Bloom will therefore be hoping that his team will be able to quickly adapt to the highly competitive and skilled environment of the Premier League and start notching up a few wins, especially as his side starts facing teams that they have a more reasonable chance of scoring a result against.
In other words, a teams success often depends upon just small margins, as highlighted by the fact for three seasons Brighton reached the play-offs, but ultimately failed to qualify after losing at the last hurdle. Just like in the past, Brighton may be facing long odds of success in one of the world’s most competitive leagues, but through the determination they have shown in the past, Bloom is hopeful that his team will still be there come the beginning of next season.
Related Articles
Australians Gamblers Wagered $11k Per Person in 2016-17
Monday, October 22nd, 2018 Written by Charles Washington
Could Berlusconi Champion Italy’s Gambling Industry?
Tuesday, May 29th, 2018 Written by Charles Washington
Perhaps it should not be a surprise that professional gamblers are attracted to dot.coms. After all, the stakes are high, the returns potentially huge, you need guts to step up and play and if you blink you could miss something vital and lose everything.
Tony Bloom is one such individual who, by his own admission, has been gambling for over 20 years. He first went into a bookmaker at the age of 15.
For a while, he was even a professional poker player and came fourth, winning £25,000, in the first ever live 'Poker Million' tournament in 2000.
Favourite sum
'It's always nice to have a hobby that you can make money at as well,' he said.
Now, he has moved on to the internet and is trying to make a success of online gambling, specifically betting on football matches.
Anthony Bloom Betting
The site he founded is called Premier Bet and takes bets on football matches under a system known as the Asian Handicap and it launched in May this year.
Anyone putting money on a match typically bets for their chosen team to win, lose or draw.
Split handicaps
Under the Asian handicap system, there are only two outcomes because the chances of the favourite winning are reduced. So in a draw, anyone betting on them effectively loses.
The handicap takes the form of a number added to or subtracted from the final score of the team you bet on.
On the recent England-Brazil match in the World Cup, the handicap for Brazil, as the favourite, was -1 and for England, the underdog, +1.
Anyone putting money on Brazil had to be sure that they would win by a good enough margin to wipe out this handicap.
This is only the simplest case. There can be split handicaps which try to do a better job of reflecting the form of a team.
Setting the handicaps is an art in itself.
It is heartening to find that in this age of robot dogs, online everything and space stations, Mr Bloom works them out himself.
Tony Bloom Betting Sports
Bigger risk
He has all the statistics to hand to help him work out what the handicap should be, but it basically boils down to him watching a huge amount of football and making a judgement based on what he sees.
During the World Cup, he has had to watch almost every match.
'I just do it from experience in my head,' he said. 'You get a feel for it.' His background in statistics, accountancy and running other betting businesses also helps.
Tony Bloom Sports Betting
Mr Bloom set up and ran the Asian handicap business of betting conglomerate Victor Chandler before he branched out on his own.
The return that punters get is based broadly on the handicaps and, as in any other form of gambling, you'll get better odds the more risk you take.
Take time
The fact that there are only two outcomes means more money is returned to the customer, said Mr Bloom.
'Whoever the punters are, Asian handicap is better for them,' said Mr Bloom. 'Though, they may not know it yet.'
And there lies the problem. As the name suggests, Asian handicaps are well known in Asia and less well over here. Understanding them can take some time.
'We aim for the more sophisticated and discerning better,' said Mr Bloom.
All he has to hope now is that the gamble pays off.