The English Football League is taking its time assessing the prospective buyout of Sheffield Wednesday to establish whether the purchase would be largely funded by the proceeds of gambling and crypto-gambling operations.
A consortium was given preferred bidder status by Wednesday’s administrators on Christmas Eve, with the funding coming from two of its members, the professional poker player James Bord and the crypto-gambling casino owner Felix Roemer. The EFL is assessing whether the bidders comply with the requirements of its owners’ and directors’ test (ODT).
At the end of the season those assessments are being taken over by the Independent Football Regulator and it would pick up the Wednesday case if it has not been completed. The regulator also has the authority to assess incumbent owners, and has powers of investigation, sanction and enforcement more draconian than those of the EFL.
The Bord/Roemer consortium has paid a multimillion-pound deposit to secure exclusive negotiating rights to buy Wednesday, and has provided evidence to the administrators, Begbies Traynor, that it has the funding to complete the proposed £30m-plus purchase and three years of operating costs.
The sources of that funding are being analysed by the EFL, and the buyers’ involvement in gambling could complicate the takeover, with sources indicating due diligence is in its early stages. An EFL spokesperson said the ODT process was ongoing.
Other clubs owned by gambling companies, notably Tony Bloom’s Brighton and Matthew Benham’s Brentford, have dispensation from the Football Association, which banned football betting for all participants in 2014. As part of that agreement Bloom and Benham allow the accounts of their betting consultancies, Starlizard and Smartodds respectively, to be independently audited on behalf of the FA to ensure they are not betting on football.
Bord and Roemer would have to sign a similar undertaking, although it is unclear whether the FA would grant them dispensation. Bloom and Benham were club owners when the rules were introduced. The FA is understood to be liaising with the EFL.
There is no public record of Bord’s wealth beyond reported career poker winnings of about £3m. The 44-year-old has worked for the data-driven betting businesses of Bloom and Benham, and multiple sources in the industry have described him as a successful gambler.
Bord’s and Roemer’s advisers told the Guardian that the Wednesday bid was being privately funded, with the pair having made money through investments in technology and analytics, but declined to go into more details.
Roemer’s funding appears more clearcut through his ownership of crypto-gambling casino and sports betting site, Gamdom, an offshore operation registered in the Indian Ocean Comoros Islands, with a history of regulatory fines and bans for unlicensed activity in several European countries. Its previous operating company, Smein Hosting NV, has been fined in Spain, Sweden and the Netherlands for operating in those jurisdictions without a licence.
Bord also owns the Scottish Championship club Dunfermline with a fellow poker player, Evan Sofa, and has stakes in the Spanish club Córdoba and the Bulgarian side Septemvri Sofia with other investors.
Bord’s other publicly known vehicle, Short Circuit Science, a data and analytics company, appears to be based offshore beacuse it is not registered in the UK or US. There are no public details of its staffing levels or business operations. Short Circuit had a contract with Sheffield United to advise on player recruitment last year until it emerged that Bord was bidding for Wednesday.
Bord and Roemer beat off competition from six other bidders, including the former Newcastle owner Mike Ashley, to agree a deal to buy Wednesday after the club entered administration last October.
Begbies Traynor is understood to retain confidence in its preferred bidder, but is aware of the ODT process make take considerable time, which led them to sell several players this month to ensure the club have sufficient cashflow to finish the season. The club captain Barry Bannan left for Millwall and Chelsea agreed to pay £500,000 for the 17-year-old defender Yisa Alao.
Clive Betts, Labour MP for Sheffield South East, urged the EFL to run a rigorous process despite his desire for a sale to be completed.
“The source of funding has to be a concern, given the inherent volatility of those industries,” Betts said. “Even if the EFL approves the takeover, what level of sustainability is there? These are issues that need to be addressed. I’m sure the regulator will be taking a close look, as even if they aren’t running the ODT they could inherit these owners. This is a massive test for the regulator. Given the nature of the bidders they will want to ensure there’s a thorough process, and it could take a long time.”