Anthony Grant Bloom (born 20 March 1970) is an English sports gambler, entrepreneur, and poker player. Bloom has stakes in multiple football clubs; he is the majority owner and chairman of Premier League football club Brighton & Hove Albion, and investor and minority shareholder in Belgian First Division A team Royale Union Saint-Gilloise. He is also a minority owner of Australian A-League club Melbourne Victory and a minority shareholder in Scottish Premiership club Heart of Midlothian.

Early life and career Bloom grew up in Brighton. He attended the fee-paying school Lancing College before gaining a degree in mathematics at the University of Manchester. After graduating, Bloom worked for the accountancy firm Ernst & Young for around two years, then spent six months as an options trader before deciding to gamble professionally.

Sports betting Bloom was hired by bookmakers Victor Chandler in the late 1990s to set up its international gambling business in Bangkok, which introduced him to the Asian market, and its handicap system of betting.

He founded an online football betting company, Premierbet, before the 2022 World Cup, and later sold it for £1 million. He also launched and sold on-line gambling companies Tribeca Tables and St Minver.

Bloom runs a private betting syndicate closely associated with Starlizard, a betting consultancy he established to support his sports-betting activities. Business Insider reported that former employees and industry figures regarded Starlizard and Bloom's syndicate as closely intertwined, with the company carrying out much of its work for the syndicate.

Jamestown Analytics developed from a company incorporated in 2017 that was controlled by Starlizard until September 2023. It provides predictive data and analysis to football and cricket clubs.

Bloom also holds significant property and private equity portfolios.

Football club ownership Brighton & Hove Albion Since 2009, Bloom has been the chairman of English club Brighton & Hove Albion. Bloom is a longtime Brighton fan and his family has had a long association with the club; his uncle, Ray, is a director and his grandfather, Harry, was vice-chairman during the 1970s. The club was promoted to the Premier League in the 2016–17 season after 34 years out of the top flight of English football.

Bloom succeeded Dick Knight after securing a 75% shareholding in the club, and invested £93 million in the development of the club's new ground, Falmer Stadium.Stadium Funding Secured , Seagulls World, 18 May 2009. Retrieved 18 May 2009Prediction for 09-10 Season Squarefootball, 21 February 2009. Retrieved 21 February 2009

Brighton were promoted from Football League One as champions in 2011, the season before Brighton moved into Falmer Stadium. Brighton avoided relegation in 2014–15, and then finished in third place in the Championship the following season. In the 2016–17 season Brighton finished second in the Championship, gaining promotion to the Premier League for the first time. The club broke several transfer fee records to improve the squad in the following transfer window.

In the 2021–22 Premier League season, Brighton finished with 51 points, their highest ever points tally in the Premier League, and finished in 9th place. Brighton then finished the 2022–23 Premier League season in 6th place, qualifying for the UEFA Europa League and hosting European football for the first time.

Heart of Midlothian In June 2025, Bloom invested £9.86 million in Heart of Midlothian for newly issued non-voting shares representing 29 per cent of the club's economic capital. His nominee, James Franks, joined the club's board as a non-executive director. Majority shareholder Foundation of Hearts retained 75.5 per cent of the shareholder voting rights and held a 53.6 per cent economic interest after the transaction.

In May 2026, UEFA was reported to be reviewing the relationship between Hearts and Brighton & Hove Albion because of Bloom's connection to both clubs and their possible participation in the same UEFA competition.

Union Saint-Gilloise In 2018, Bloom completed the takeover of Belgian second division club Royale Union Saint-Gilloise, known as USG. At the end of the 2020–21 football season USG were promoted to Belgian First Division A for the first time in 48 years. Bloom was the majority owner of USG however following the qualification by USG and Brighton for UEFA club competitions for the 2023–24 season, Bloom made changes to his investment in USG to ensure compliance with UEFA's multi-club ownership rules. These changes resulted in Bloom becoming a minority shareholder in USG. USG and Brighton's admission to UEFA club competitions for the 2023–24 season was confirmed by UEFA in a press release issued on 7 July 2023.

Melbourne Victory In March 2025, Bloom bought a 19.1% stake in Australian A-League club Melbourne Victory.

Poker Bloom is a poker player, nicknamed "The Lizard".

Bloom appeared in the Late Night Poker television series and has a final table appearance on the World Poker Tour. He also made back-to-back final table appearances in the first two Poker Million events. His first major win came in January 2004 when he won the Australasian Poker Championship in Melbourne, collecting a first prize of around A$420,000 ($320,000, £180,000).Tony Bloom's Player Profile and History Pokerpages. Retrieved 1 May 2010

Bloom fell short of the million-pound grand prize in the Poker Million IX event held in London on 10 December 2010. He finished second behind Gus Hansen.

In September 2022, Bloom won Poker Masters Event #8: $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha for $360,000. It was Bloom's first time playing poker in three years and his first time playing a PokerGO Tour event.

As of October 2022, Bloom's total live tournament winnings exceeded $3,800,000.

Personal life Bloom is married to Linda, an Australian-born psychologist. They have two children.

Bloom, who is Jewish, has played a key role in the development of a synagogue and community centre project in Hove. He became involved when the Brighton and Hove Hebrew Congregation faced financial difficulties, with funding for the project provided by the Bloom Foundation, where he serves as chairman.

Bloom was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2024 New Year Honours for services to association football and to the community in Brighton.

References

External links

Card Player profile Hendon Mob profile WPT profile WSOP profile Jewish Chronicle feature