Anthony Bloom | Tony Bloom | The Lizard

He named his sports betting consultancy Starlizard after his nickname The Lizard; he got that due to his ice cool poker face. One of his most interesting businesses Starlizard uses technology and mathematics to give better odds to its members. Starlizard is said to go to the nth degree in factoring in a predicted score. The weather, player morale among other influencing factors. 

Bloom also owner of Brighton & Hove Albion (his birthplace football team) and Royale Union Saint-Gilloise of Belgium, he has a passion for football- for sure. 

Like some other pro gamblers Tony has made great success from combining maths and computers to help win at gambling. In further coincidence those same peers also were investors and businessmen. 


The start 

Tony was born on the south coast of the UK in a town called Brighton in 1970. His grandfather used to enjoy a bit of a flutter at the dogs (Greyhound racing) but nothing serious. He would take Tony when he was very young. Tony also spent a few quid at the arcades; he must have loved the thrill. 

It was at 15 that he started gambling himself at betting shops (known locally as bookies in the UK). 15 is and was an illegal age for gambling in the UK so he used a fake ID. 

He continued to diligently study maths realising the power of the subject from a young age. There is also clearly a love of it shown throughout his strategic life. He went on to Manchester and got a degree in maths. 

Following his student days he got his first job with Ernst and Young as an accountant. This alongside his betting wins built up a roll of some £20k a very nice respectable sum at the time. As an options trader though he lasted just 6 months, deciding to stop trading his time for money and moving into gambling as a profession

The Oriental Connection 

The next poignant moment was when Victor Chandlers (Bet Victor) the bookmakers noticed his talent for picking a winner. He had been winning from them no doubt! But he needed a big offer to make him give up being a pro. As head of a setup for Asian operations the position must have appealed to the entrepreneur in him too; as he took it. Now he was working for a bookmaker and learning Asian handicapping whilst living an international lifestyle. One notable win for The Lizard was instructing Victor Chandler to give France favourable odds to win the 1998 world cup final. Tony knows football, as the unfancied Frenchmen stormed to victory over Brazil 3-0. This is said to have made Chandlers a lot of money. But besides that it showed the world his talent for knowing the game of football. 


Ever the entrepreneur his first startup called Premier Bet was the first online to use the Asian Handicapping System. It was a great success and he sold the business later on. Hungry for more Tony saw the rise of the internet and being well placed was able to get in on online gambling websites. Part of the rise of online gambling was from the success of Chris Moneymaker - it was boom time. 


Taking his money from selling Premier Bet, Bloom saw the opportunity to reinvest and invigorate himself! Tony started two online poker sites, St Minver and Tribeca Tables. 

Poker 

Coming back to Chris M and Poker for a second Tony loves a game of poker. A true gambler at heart- “Poker gives you a good grounding in lots of things, including reading situations and reading people and making tough decisions. Those skills can be used in business and certainly in running a football club,” -Tony Bloom 

Starlizard 

The profits of this company are not known exactly but it’s huge numbers. It portrays itself as a betting consultancy agency. With 2 string services for those that can afford it. But if you can you may be in luck for the consultancy purportedly earns 100 million a year average. 14 million is made alone from the subscriptions to the information per year. If you visit the website of Starlizard you will see integrity is everywhere. Secrecy is very important when you consider that estimated annual wagered amounts can be a round 3 billion per year. 

Tony though remains a very likeable man and is a dad to his son, married to an Australian woman he lives a private life and looks after his businesses and employees well. After a long tenure they are allowed access to Starlizards services. He seldom flaunts his billions but is known to throw a wild party now and again.

It's worth noting that Tony Bloom has an interest in horse racing and many have been the feature of informed gambles. 

One horse worth a mention is Penhill, who was trained by Willie Mullins, a dual Cheltenham Festival winner in the Albert Bartlett Novices' hurdle (2017) & the Stayer's Hurdle (2018). He was retired in 2020 after pulling up when battling to retain his crown in the Stayer's Hurdle AT Prestbury Park. In his Flat and NH career he achieved 12 wins from 34 starts. He was a talented Flat horse with James Bethell and Luca Cumani, achieving a highest official rating of 100 and total earning (Flat) of £59,025. However, this son of Mount Nelson excelled on the National Hunt, achieving 7 wins from 16 starts. He won price money of £412,377. A highest official rating (NH) of 165 proved his class. A true champion.
 

Other exceptionally talented horses in the ownership of Bloom include Librisa Breeze, trained by Dean Ivory, who won over £1M in prize money. Withhold, trained by Roger Charlton, who has won over £400,000 in total earnings. 

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