Inside StarLizard: High Court Filing Lifts Lid on Tony Bloom’s $800 Million Betting Empire

This week, a new document filed in London's High Court provided insight into the inner workings of StarLizard, the covert gambling organization headed by poker expert Tony "The Lizard" Bloom, the owner of Brighton & Hove Albion, an English Premier League team.

The documents are related to the legal lawsuit that former business partner Ryan Dudfield is currently pursuing against Bloom, claiming he is entitled to a $17.5 million (US$23 million) portion of StarLizard's profits.

One of the most prosperous betting syndicates in the world is StarLizard. According to the documents, it places bets using affluent frontmen, such as "footballers, sportsmen, and businessmen," who are known to be losing gamblers.

According to the documents, affluent losers are an ideal front for Bloom's syndicate since sportsbooks frequently reject wagers from successful gamblers, and their betting accounts are highly valued. According to the documents, StarLizard refers to these accounts as "secret exotic accounts" and carefully manages them from its Canary Wharf offices in London.

Cottrell Is a Good Fit

According to the documents, one of StarLizard's frontmen is George Cottrell, an assistant to Nigel Farage, the leader of the right-wing, populist Reform Party in the UK.

Cottrell most definitely fits the description. He is a well-known high-stakes gambler who lost $20 million playing poker in a single evening. He was born into an aristocratic family.

In addition, he was found guilty of wire fraud and served eight months in prison in the United States. He was promoting himself on the dark web in 2014 as an expert in offshore investments with the ability to launder money into and out of the United States.

Cottrell agreed to meet with two FBI agents who were pretending to be drug traffickers in Las Vegas in order to finalize a deal.

After accepting a plea offer, he ultimately entered a guilty plea to one count of wire fraud after being charged with 21 felonies, including conspiracy to commit money laundering, wire fraud, blackmail, and extortion.

Profit Dividend

According to Dudfield, he was entitled to a 7% portion of the earnings from wagers made using George Cottrell's accounts. According to the petition, the profit-split divided returned 60% to the syndicate, 33% to Cottrell, and 7% to Dudfield.

According to court filings, the plaintiff alleges that the syndicate deceived him by claiming that operations utilizing those accounts had stopped, but in fact it continued to place sizable bets and produce earnings, of which he says he was contractually entitled to a portion.

He claims that Cottrell would have been entitled to payments of about $17.5 million from the revenues made through his accounts.

It is estimated that StarLizard makes approximately £600 million (US$800 million) annually, which is sufficient to fund Bloom's acquisition of Brighton & Hove Albion in 2009 as well as his subsequent purchases of Belgian Union Saint-Gilloise, Scotland's Heart of Midlothian, and Australia's Melbourne Victory.