Back Your Bookie

There is nothing quite like the British betting shop. They have an atmosphere, culture, and spirit all of their own. Over the years I have visited what passes for their equivalent in Hong Kong, China, Croatia, Lithuania, Germany, and Nevada and nothing can match them.

My current favourite betting shop is the Ladbrokes shop located just off the town square in Downham Market. This shop achieves its ranking at the top the list for a few reasons: (1) it is good-sized, modern shop with large windows, giving it an open, airy atmosphere; (2) I am in profit for that particular shop out of all the bets I have placed there; (3) there is a café just down the street that does an excellent cheese on toast, perfect for staving off hunger during an afternoon’s racing.

Unfortunately, I no longer have a need to visit Downham as often as I did, so my visits to that shop are few and far between these days.

My second favourite betting shop was the Coral shop in the south terminal at Gatwick airport. There was nothing especially notable about the shop itself except that it did make waiting for a plane more enjoyable. No, this shop’s rating was due to the fact that it was opposite a Krispy Kreme doughnut outlet. There was nothing more pleasurable than scoffing down a trio of doughnuts (one original glazed, one glazed raspberry, one custard filling) whilst watching a few races. Sadly both the Coral betting shop and the Krispy Kreme concession have gone, to be replaced by a Wetherspoon’s.

2011 marked the 50th anniversary of the legalisation of ‘licensed betting offices’ on the UK high street. Almost since they first opened they have been under attack from those groups and institutions which see the betting shop as a blight on the high street. Even today, when retailers are going out of business in towns across the UK, certain politicians and opponents still want to talk down the UK betting sector.

Such is the opposition to betting shops, the Association of British Bookmakers (ABB) has started its ‘Back Your Local Bookie’ campaign.

If you are interested in learning more about the history and development of the UK betting shop, these two books are a good place to start:

Down The Bookies: The First 50 Years of Betting Shops; John Samuels (2011) Racing Post Books

Better Betting with a Decent Feller: A Social History of Bookmaking; Carl Chinn (2004) Aurum Press

If you can get your hands on a copy of Bookmakers Office Supplies (BOS) Magazine, its articles also discuss the UK betting sector’s past, present, and future.

As Graham Sharpe, William Hill’s Media Relations Director, notes in the foreword to Down The Bookies:

“Anyone who has spent even the shortest amount of time in one of these unique, misunderstood establishments will recognise in John’s terrific book their real strengths and their few weaknesses. As the high street struggles to survive, you can bet the betting shop will be among the last to close its doors … [The high street] would not be the same without it.”