7 Professional Gamblers Who Made Millions Sports Betting (Net Worth Revealed)

Very few people make a living from sports betting, but only a handful have made millions.

These professional gamblers didn’t rely on luck. They used data, discipline, and ruthless bankroll management to beat the bookmakers long-term.

Here are their incredible stories and some professional gambling tips inspired by their methods.

What Is a Professional Gambler?

A professional gambler makes a full-time living from betting, often using mathematical strategies, deep market knowledge, or inside connections. Fewer than 1% of sports bettors are consistently profitable long-term (and even fewer earn life-changing money). This list includes those rare individuals who’ve made millions by mastering the art of betting by operating like hedge funds or data firms.

Professional Gamblers at a Glance

Gambler	Main Sport/Market	Estimated Net Worth	Primary Edge
Tony Bloom	Football	£1B+	Algorithmic modelling
Haralabos Voulgaris	NBA	$30–50M	Totals inefficiencies
Bernard Marantelli	Betting Pools	$50M+	Pool value timing
Patrick Veitch	Horse Racing	£10M+	Inside info + maths
Zeljko Ranogajec	Multi-market	$1B+ (turnover)	Scale + rebates
Billy Walters	US Sports	$200M+	Line manipulation
Bill Benter	Horse Racing	$1B+	Advanced modelling

Note: Net worth figures for professional gamblers are notoriously difficult to verify. Many operate privately, reinvest capital into syndicates, or structure profits through offshore entities. Where possible, figures are based on public interviews, court records, Forbes reporting, or documented ownership stakes (not speculation).

1. Tony Bloom – Football’s Biggest Professional Gambler?

This owner of Brighton Football Club has built a massive net worth through sports betting, particularly football. Starting hi journey in poker, his skills transitioned to sports betting after the 1998 World Cup.

At the core of his secret strategy is a proprietary algorithm. It’s job? to analyse football data against historical betting odds. By accurately measuring the real-world value of his bets long before he places them, it allows him to bet millions at a time. To get them on he has to use betting exchanges and sharp sportsbooks in Asia and beyond.

Earlier in the 2000’s his data company (Starlizard) refined his algorithmic strategy that absorbs hundreds of data-feeds at a time. He employs data analysts, traders, and computer scientists to maintain their edge and continually tweak for optimal efficiency.

His approach is so methodical that it has been compared to running a hedge fund. It just goes to show how powerful technology and statistical analysis is in professional sports betting.

2. Haralabos Voulgaris: NBA Priceline Genius

Known as the most successful NBA bettor in the history of the sport (in public anyway). He identified a loophole in the total points lines provided by sportsbooks, exploiting the discrepancies between first and second-half scoring lines. At his peak, Voulgaris was staking over $1 million on NBA games across the US.

His strategy led to around $7,000,000 in a relatively short space of time. However, this wasn’t just a one-off gimmick as it eventually secured him a role with the Dallas Mavericks analytics team where he re-applied his statistical modelling knowledge. For a short period of time, he was their director of quantitative research and development.

Also a skilled poker player, he’s pocketed multiple 7-figure wins. Like many on this list, he’s a numbers guy that you don’t want to play against…

3. Bernard Marantelli – Scoop 6 Multi-Winner…

Bernard Marantelli, the Founder of Colossus Bets, is a lesser-known but highly successful professional gambler. Born into an Australian bookmaking family, Marantelli quickly became interested in pools betting strategy. He’s won the Scoop 6 on several occasions and many sports betting pools around the world, banking millions.

His gambling strategy involves identifying when the value of a betting pool exceeds the risk of playing – and then buying masses of tickets quickly. This approach drastically increases his chances of winning significant jackpots, but only when the odds are in his favour.

Marantelli’s innovative approach led him to create Colossus Bets, offering some of the world’s biggest sports jackpots. His ability to gauge the perfect time to enter the betting pool and his strategic purchasing of large volumes have also made him the right person to manage such a company. He’s an incredibly shrewd guy who’s well-experienced in betting exchange automation.

4. Patrick Veitch: The £10M Racing Punter

Who do the bookies fear the most? Mathematics graduates. Patrick Veitch is one of those people who has used a mixture of number-crunching skills and high-end connections to make over £10 million in sports betting. Known for his detailed planning, Veitch’s is believed to be behind multiple betting coups. Very few possess the skills to source a likely winner, and measure it’s true value. He’s exploited opportunities over different horse racing types and grades for a number of years.

He famously orchestrated the 2004 betting coup, where an unknown horse’s odds were slashed from 100/1 to 8/1 before winning convincingly. It remains one of the most talked-about events in modern betting history. With little to no money backing his selection until the dying minutes, the bookies didn’t see it coming – nor did they have time to respond.

Veitch’s reputation underscores the importance of numbers, planning, and strategic execution in professional gambling. He’s an incredibly sharp but devious charachter.

5. Zeljko Ranogajec – Global Mastermind

Often referred to as “The Joker” or “John Wilson” Zeljko Ranogajec has outsmarted world betting for decades. He started with a blackjack strategy, moved on to mini-lotteries (Keno) followed by pool betting and then the Exchanges. Like Bloom, he employs many individuals via a secretive organisation to model data around the globe. Although unconfirmed, it’s rumoured that he is one of the biggest repeat winners of Tote placepots.

In 2012 a high-profile court case had him give evidence where he estimated his betting turnover to be around $1 billion per year. Many consider him to be the most prolific and secretive figure in the world of professional gambling. His ability to manage large-scale betting operations and consistently identify value bets has made him a legend.

Considering he started life out as the son of Croatian immigrants, he’s done extremely well. Ranogajec’s success story emphasises the potential for anyone to become proficient at professional sports betting.

6. Billy Walters: Price-Line Maverick

Over in America, Billy Walters is a household name. With a career spanning over three decades and considerable controversy, every gambler knows him.

He developed early computer algorithms in the late 1980’s to identify value in sports betting markets. After being banned from many of Vegas’s biggest sportsbooks, Walters masterminded a network of anonymous bet-runners to place bets on his behalf. Most of the people placing bet for him had no idea who’s money it was.

His system often involved manipulating sports betting lines to create extremely profitable payouts. The exact details on his operation remains secretive to this day. Later he was involved in an insider trading scandal that had questioning just how far he might go to win…

Walters’ most famous win came in twenty-ten when he reportedly made $3.5 million betting on the New Orleans Saints to win the Super Bowl. His ability to influence betting lines by placing decoy bets showcases a deep understanding of market psychology and how sportsbook operations work.

Last but by no means least is the greatest of them all…

7. Bill Benter – An Early Pioneer

Bill Benter beat horse racing long before many had even considered his methods, his story is deeply inspiring.

Using his mathematical expertise and software development skills, he created an algorithm that once allowed him to win $118 million in a single day. The algorithm factored in 130 variables, including horse form, track conditions, betting data and jockey traits. It was so sophisticated, that he won many of the Hong Kong’s pari-mutual betting pools throughout the 90’s. But it wasn’t really about the money for Bill, it was the problem-solving.

It’s unknown if he’s still heavily invested in the world of betting today but still, he continually donates money to those who need it most via the Benter Foundation.

The Reality of Professional Sports Betting

While these gamblers made millions, their paths are not repeatable for most bettors. Nearly all operated at scale, used teams, negotiated rebates, or exploited markets that no longer exist. For modern bettors, the biggest takeaway isn’t copying their bets – it’s copying their discipline, selectivity, and risk management.

If you’re betting casually, the most reliable profits today come from structured, low-risk strategies rather than trying to outsmart the market head-on.

Tips from Professional Gamblers…

Want to think like a pro? Here are a few consistent themes from these betting legends:

• Use data, not emotion: All of them rely on data models or research, not gut feelings.
• Specialise: Focus on one sport or market to develop a true edge.
• Bankroll discipline: Risk only a small percentage of your capital per bet.
• Keep learning: They continually refine their strategies.

One consistent pattern among every name on this list? They treated betting like a business. Teams, data pipelines, bankroll structures, edge tracking, and scale. That’s what separates hobbyists from professionals.

One of the best things anyone can do is start by tracking bets and analysing where your edge really lies. If you have anyone else you’d like us to add to the list, please let us know below.

Related: Tony Bloom’s Net Worth – Inside a Billionaire’s Rising Fortune