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Brentford, Brighton Show Gambling's Hold on Football - WSJ.com
In English Soccer, the Bettors Rule
As U.S. Leagues Resist Sports Gamblers, Two British Clubs Are Now Bankrolled by Them By HANNAH KARP
The soccer game taking place Tuesday in West London between two lower-division English teams, the Brentford Bees and the Brighton and Hove Albion Seagulls, isn't exactly a barnburner. The two clubs have no storied rivalry to speak of. It's not expected to be a particularly riveting match.
But their meeting marks a development that may be a first in the sports world: The men behind these two teams, Brighton Chairman Tony Bloom and Brentford shareholder Matthew Benham, aren't just a pair of rich blokes playing in the sandbox of pro sports. They're two of the world's biggest, most successful sports gamblers.
We'll pause here to let NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell spit out his coffee.
As you may know, gambling on sports in the U.S. is a widely discouraged activity for anyone associated with top teams or leagues. The NFL's policy, which forbids its owners from having interests in any gambling-related enterprises, is so prohibitive that the Rooney family, owners of the Pittsburgh Steelers, recently had to restructure their ownership because of new gambling offerings at the family's racetracks. Two years ago, several major leagues joined the NFL in suing the state of Delaware after lawmakers there passed legislation to allow single-game betting.
In many ways, the sports cultures of the U.S. and U.K. have been merging. But when it comes to the relative merits of gambling, the reverse is true.
View Full Image
Brighton and Hove Albion FC
Brighton Chairman Tony Bloom.
Across the pond, where prominent bookmakers reported increases of as much as 20% in pretax profits in 2010, teams are reaping windfalls. This season, seven of the English Premier League's 20 clubs have jerseys emblazoned with the names of online-betting companies. In the U.S., meanwhile, the NFL continues to fight attempts to expand sports betting, even as its owners threaten to lock out the players if they don't make concessions on revenue.
In the U.K., betting has become so entrenched in the mainstream that last year, a British financial firm launched a hedge fund that places sports bets. Academic programs are popping up where students can earn master's degrees in "gambling studies." Sports organizations have even come to rely on bookmakers to alert them to irregular betting patterns. Nonetheless, the idea that rich bettors might make up the next wave of team owners is a new idea.
England's Football Association forbids anyone from betting, or helping others bet, on matches in which they are participating. Brighton's Bloom said through a club spokesman that he doesn't bet on Brighton's matches but still enjoys betting on soccer. Smartodds CEO Phil Whall, who represents Benham on the soccer club's board of directors, said Benham has never bet on a Brentford match.
Bloom and Benham know each other—they once worked together at Premierbet, a soccer-betting company that Bloom founded in 2002 and has since sold. According to Whall, they haven't spoken since. Both declined to be interviewed.
In many ways, the men are polar opposites. Bloom, 40 years old, has been a fan of the Seagulls since he was a boy. His late grandfather once served as Brighton's vice chairman. He's hands-on with team decisions and appears to live a rather glamorous life. Nicknamed "the Lizard," he's a fixture on the World Poker Tour and spends much of the year in Australia with his wife, Linda, a hypnotherapist, according to their marriage announcement in the Jewish Chronicle.
Premierbet once promised not to turn away customers "just because they were clever." It specialized in a kind of thin-margin, high-volume spread betting known as "Asian handicap betting" that has proved lucrative. "He's probably the most successful soccer bettor in the world," says Keith Sobey, who oversees a London sports-betting academy.
Benham, 42, is a former financial trader who studied at Oxford. After working at Premierbet, he left to start his own betting syndicate. He launched a consultancy in 2004 called Smartodds, which is based in North London and provides statistical and qualitative research to soccer bettors. He's so reclusive that few fans have any idea what he looks like.
Trevor Inns, the administrator of a Brentford fan site who interviewed Benham after he made his initial investment, described him as "young, healthy and fit" and surprisingly shy for a multimillionaire gambler. He says Benham's high-ceilinged office was decorated with photos of historic soccer moments and "many, many TV screens."
So far, the two men have proved to be enthusiastic and generous supporters. Bloom took over as chairman in 2009 and has loaned the club at least £80 million ($130 million) interest-free for a new stadium, which is under construction. He is now the majority shareholder.
About five years ago, after Benham heard his favorite team from boyhood was in financial trouble, he loaned several million pounds to a supporters' group to allow them to take over. He has since made additional loans. He owns 30% of the club and will invest £1 million per year though 2014.
"Football has treated me very well," Benham said in the fan-site interview, so the loan "seemed a natural thing."
Bloom and Benham are not the only team owners with significant gambling interests. Peter Coates, who co-owns Bet365, controls the Premier League club Stoke City.
Brentford, Brighton Show Gambling's Hold on Football - WSJ.com
In English Soccer, the Bettors Rule
As U.S. Leagues Resist Sports Gamblers, Two British Clubs Are Now Bankrolled by Them By HANNAH KARP
The soccer game taking place Tuesday in West London between two lower-division English teams, the Brentford Bees and the Brighton and Hove Albion Seagulls, isn't exactly a barnburner. The two clubs have no storied rivalry to speak of. It's not expected to be a particularly riveting match.
But their meeting marks a development that may be a first in the sports world: The men behind these two teams, Brighton Chairman Tony Bloom and Brentford shareholder Matthew Benham, aren't just a pair of rich blokes playing in the sandbox of pro sports. They're two of the world's biggest, most successful sports gamblers.
We'll pause here to let NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell spit out his coffee.
As you may know, gambling on sports in the U.S. is a widely discouraged activity for anyone associated with top teams or leagues. The NFL's policy, which forbids its owners from having interests in any gambling-related enterprises, is so prohibitive that the Rooney family, owners of the Pittsburgh Steelers, recently had to restructure their ownership because of new gambling offerings at the family's racetracks. Two years ago, several major leagues joined the NFL in suing the state of Delaware after lawmakers there passed legislation to allow single-game betting.
In many ways, the sports cultures of the U.S. and U.K. have been merging. But when it comes to the relative merits of gambling, the reverse is true.
View Full Image
Brighton and Hove Albion FC
Brighton Chairman Tony Bloom.
Across the pond, where prominent bookmakers reported increases of as much as 20% in pretax profits in 2010, teams are reaping windfalls. This season, seven of the English Premier League's 20 clubs have jerseys emblazoned with the names of online-betting companies. In the U.S., meanwhile, the NFL continues to fight attempts to expand sports betting, even as its owners threaten to lock out the players if they don't make concessions on revenue.
In the U.K., betting has become so entrenched in the mainstream that last year, a British financial firm launched a hedge fund that places sports bets. Academic programs are popping up where students can earn master's degrees in "gambling studies." Sports organizations have even come to rely on bookmakers to alert them to irregular betting patterns. Nonetheless, the idea that rich bettors might make up the next wave of team owners is a new idea.
England's Football Association forbids anyone from betting, or helping others bet, on matches in which they are participating. Brighton's Bloom said through a club spokesman that he doesn't bet on Brighton's matches but still enjoys betting on soccer. Smartodds CEO Phil Whall, who represents Benham on the soccer club's board of directors, said Benham has never bet on a Brentford match.
Bloom and Benham know each other—they once worked together at Premierbet, a soccer-betting company that Bloom founded in 2002 and has since sold. According to Whall, they haven't spoken since. Both declined to be interviewed.
In many ways, the men are polar opposites. Bloom, 40 years old, has been a fan of the Seagulls since he was a boy. His late grandfather once served as Brighton's vice chairman. He's hands-on with team decisions and appears to live a rather glamorous life. Nicknamed "the Lizard," he's a fixture on the World Poker Tour and spends much of the year in Australia with his wife, Linda, a hypnotherapist, according to their marriage announcement in the Jewish Chronicle.
Premierbet once promised not to turn away customers "just because they were clever." It specialized in a kind of thin-margin, high-volume spread betting known as "Asian handicap betting" that has proved lucrative. "He's probably the most successful soccer bettor in the world," says Keith Sobey, who oversees a London sports-betting academy.
Benham, 42, is a former financial trader who studied at Oxford. After working at Premierbet, he left to start his own betting syndicate. He launched a consultancy in 2004 called Smartodds, which is based in North London and provides statistical and qualitative research to soccer bettors. He's so reclusive that few fans have any idea what he looks like.
Trevor Inns, the administrator of a Brentford fan site who interviewed Benham after he made his initial investment, described him as "young, healthy and fit" and surprisingly shy for a multimillionaire gambler. He says Benham's high-ceilinged office was decorated with photos of historic soccer moments and "many, many TV screens."
So far, the two men have proved to be enthusiastic and generous supporters. Bloom took over as chairman in 2009 and has loaned the club at least £80 million ($130 million) interest-free for a new stadium, which is under construction. He is now the majority shareholder.
About five years ago, after Benham heard his favorite team from boyhood was in financial trouble, he loaned several million pounds to a supporters' group to allow them to take over. He has since made additional loans. He owns 30% of the club and will invest £1 million per year though 2014.
"Football has treated me very well," Benham said in the fan-site interview, so the loan "seemed a natural thing."
Bloom and Benham are not the only team owners with significant gambling interests. Peter Coates, who co-owns Bet365, controls the Premier League club Stoke City.
