Professional Betting Syndicate Profiles

Over the past decade sports betting has developed from a leisure pastime for many into a full time technical investment decision for some. Organizations now exist and are operating using the same investment strategies as top financial hedge funds, whereby vast teams of analysts pour over reams of historical data and statistics, to build models which generate an edge. The popularity, success and growth of the sports betting industry (both legal and illegal) has provided the increase in global liquidity needed for professional betting syndicates to operate efficiently. This liquidity has allowed the size of a professionals bet to increase significantly, to a point where millions of dollars can now be executed with ease using an experienced global brokerage network on a single bet.

The professional betting syndicates crave market liquidity because it has allowed them in effect to enter into large positions, in line with their view and at an efficient price. This efficiency is vital to a betting syndicate's success because without liquidity only a partial amount of the bet can be executed at the desired price. With the luxury of liquidity now present in sports betting markets, professional betting syndicates are now trading like major financial hedge funds and taking massive positions in the market. Allow Probigbets to reveal what the professional syndicates are betting on and make an informed betting decision.

See how the Pro's bet....Bet like a Pro!

Listed below are the profiles of 4 major professional betting syndicates:

Star Lizard (Tony Bloom), London

In the world of sports betting Tony Bloom can be credited with revolutionizing the industry. Possessing a strong desire and an incredibly gifted technical ability, Bloom saw a clear opportunity to take advantage of the inefficiencies that can exist in betting markets. Bloom was one of the first to develop effective sports betting models and trade them on a large scale, leading to the formation of the powerful London based "Star Lizard" betting syndicate.

From the humble beginnings of Brighton, Sussex, Bloom now moves markets with ease on reputation alone. His moniker "The Lizard" was given to him by an old friend who claimed when it came to big time decision-making his veins flowed with alligator blood. In 2009 Bloom took over the ownership of Football League Championship club Brighton & Hove Albion and continues to indulge in his passion for football as Chairman of this club.

It has been a wild ride for Bloom who aside from his sports betting business is also recognized globally for his poker ability, with 1 final table on the world poker tour and a win at the Australasian Poker Championship in Melbourne, collecting  first prize of $325,000.

Star Lizard has a very successful track record and is the envy of many professional betting syndicates globally. Using the latest statistical techniques to derive accurate predictions on the outcome of football matches in leagues across the world, Star Lizard continues to lead the way in professional sports betting.

Smartodds (Mathew Benham), London

Mathew Benham could not have timed his entry into professional sports betting any better. Just as Tony Bloom had proven that sound technical modeling could beat the market, Benham had recently finishing honing his skills at a top investment bank. Working as a model builder and trader of global financial markets in both Foreign Exchange and Equities; the valuable experience gained trading financial markets coupled with a shrewd natural ability in sports betting and a close association with Bloom were a perfect mix, giving birth to a global betting behemoth in the form of Benham's London based betting syndicate "Smartodds" and its proprietary betting arm.

Smartodds operates in a very secretive manner with company employees signing airtight confidentiality agreements, which are strictly enforced. This is essential to protect the valuable proprietary information that Smartodds generates and acquires, including sensitive market views and professional bets.

Like Bloom, Benham's success allows him to indulge even further in his passion for football with ownership of his beloved Brentford FC. A professional football club based at Brentford, in the London borough of Hounslow, a member of Football League One, the third tier in the English football league system.

Samvo (Shung Fai ‘Frank' Chan), Hong Kong/London

Samvo is owned and controlled by Shung Fai 'Frank' Chan, a Hong Kong businessman and politician who sits on the Hong Kong North District Council.

Founded in 2004 as a bookmaker, Samvo has grown into one of the largest betting syndicates in the world. Whilst still offering brokerage and bookmaking services Samvo's main interest now lies in its proprietary trading arm where massive betting positions are taken in the market driven by signals output by their statistical models.

Samvo's London based trading team uses a variety of models to identify value in football betting markets globally. The nature of its core business brokerage, also gives Samvo a clear indication of where smart money is flowing. These factors create a "perfect storm" allowing Samvo to trade sports betting markets successfully and consistently over time.

However the success which the Samvo betting syndicate has achieved has not been without controversy, with allegations the syndicate may have links to German match fixers. In 2009 London police searched the Wembley offices of Samvo for the first time. A second search followed a year later and the most recent was in 2011. German and British investigators were keen to discover if some of the bets placed on fixed matches in Germany were channeled via accounts registered with Samvo, and if employees of the company may have personally placed bets on behalf of a match-fixing gang and for themselves.

Samvo denies any wrongdoing and says it has co-operated with the police in the UK and Germany throughout the investigation.

Macau 5, Hong Kong

Macau 5 are a group of five Hong Kong nationals, incredibly gifted academically and educated at some of the top United States colleges, including the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Princeton University. Upon completion of their studies in the US all 5 members returned to Hong Kong to form a betting syndicate and focus on professional betting full time.

An extremely discreet and private group, Macau 5 have developed sophisticated software "plug-ins", which scalp prices on major betting exchanges and capture any available arbitrage opportunities.

In addition to their software "autobot" development, Macau 5 have developed extensive statistical modelling to capture any form of mispricing seen in bookmakers prices globally. Macau 5 have developed a large and complex brokerage network, enabling them to place single bets in massive size at an efficient price and in some cases hide the side of the bet they will genuinely back.

Known as Macau 5, the name is believed to be in reference to the terror they have inflicted on Macau bookmakers (both legal and illegal) with the sheer volume and success of their bets.