Tony Bloom, billionaire owner of Brighton & Hove Albion football club, has denied owing millions of pounds to his former colleague George Cottrell. According to a recent court document filed by Bloom, Cottrell had been introduced to him by Ryan Dudfield, who worked for the syndicate until 2018.
Bloom claims that he and Cottrell had an arrangement in which winnings were split between them, but denies owing Dudfield any further share of the millions made from this arrangement. The document states that Bloom received a £60,000 "nuisance payment" to settle any claims Dudfield had against him in July 2023.
The dispute has raised questions about the largely hidden operations and vast sums of money powering one of the world's most successful betting operations. Cottrell is known for his high-stakes betting profile as a "whale", but Bloom denies requiring exotic accounts that use other people's identities to place bets on his behalf.
Bloom's syndicate generated £600m in revenue last year, according to Dudfield's claims, but the billionaire denies this figure is accurate. The dispute between Dudfield and Bloom has highlighted the secretive nature of the betting operation, with some claims suggesting footballers and businessmen have been used as frontmen for the syndicate.
As part of his defence, Bloom points out that membership in the syndicate was a perk sometimes given to employees, but also notes that much of his betting does not involve the use of such accounts. The court document confirms that multiple apparent third parties were used by the syndicate to place bets through exotic accounts, but denies any "secretive" practices.
Dudfield is pursuing a case against Bloom and his syndicate, claiming he is owed potentially millions of pounds from an arrangement they reached in which bets were placed for Bloom through Cottrell's accounts.
Bloom claims that he and Cottrell had an arrangement in which winnings were split between them, but denies owing Dudfield any further share of the millions made from this arrangement. The document states that Bloom received a £60,000 "nuisance payment" to settle any claims Dudfield had against him in July 2023.
The dispute has raised questions about the largely hidden operations and vast sums of money powering one of the world's most successful betting operations. Cottrell is known for his high-stakes betting profile as a "whale", but Bloom denies requiring exotic accounts that use other people's identities to place bets on his behalf.
Bloom's syndicate generated £600m in revenue last year, according to Dudfield's claims, but the billionaire denies this figure is accurate. The dispute between Dudfield and Bloom has highlighted the secretive nature of the betting operation, with some claims suggesting footballers and businessmen have been used as frontmen for the syndicate.
As part of his defence, Bloom points out that membership in the syndicate was a perk sometimes given to employees, but also notes that much of his betting does not involve the use of such accounts. The court document confirms that multiple apparent third parties were used by the syndicate to place bets through exotic accounts, but denies any "secretive" practices.
Dudfield is pursuing a case against Bloom and his syndicate, claiming he is owed potentially millions of pounds from an arrangement they reached in which bets were placed for Bloom through Cottrell's accounts.
like, i'm not even sure what to believe anymore... bloom saying cottrell just introduced him to ryan and that's it? but then there's the £60k "nuisance payment" which sounds pretty suspicious to me 
idk man, these betting operations are already shady enough without adding all this drama 
i mean, if bloom is saying he didn't owe him anything and cottrell was just a convenient middleman then why else would bloom be paying him £60k? seems like bloom's trying to spin this whole thing but imo it's not going to fly 
The whole thing about Tony Bloom's betting operation is super murky 
. I mean, the guy's got a lot of money and influence, but he's denying owing his ex-colleague millions? It seems fishy to me 
. If what George Cottrell claims is true, it means that this syndicate has been operating in the shadows for years, using "frontmen" like footballers and businessmen to place bets on behalf of Bloom 
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. He's saying that membership in the syndicate was just a perk for some employees, but it sounds like he's using that as a way to muddy the waters and avoid taking responsibility for his actions 
. Anyway, this all looks super dodgy to me 
. And the idea that some people are using other people's identities to place bets... it's just not right 
. But at the same time, I'm also thinking, what's the big deal about sharing profits? Can't they just be honest and transparent about how their operation works? 
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Tony Bloom denying owing George Cottrell all those millions is just mind-blowing! Like, how can you deny something as big as that? 
- there's gotta be some truth to this too! 
i don't get how betting works but i know it can't be as simple as just placing bets on a football game, right? 
i mean, there are so many people involved... do they really use other people's identities to place bets?! that sounds like something out of a movie 
I need some solid sources before I start swallowing this story hook, line, and sinker 
. And what's up with all these claims that footballers and businessmen are being used as frontmen for the syndicate? That sounds super sketchy 
. But at the end of the day, it's just business... or so we're led to believe 
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... and now Dudfield is taking him to court, I guess we'll have to wait and see how that plays out 
. This betting syndicate business has got all these shady characters involved, it's like something straight out of a movie 
!