I was always lucky to have access to the network of bookmaker shops that exist across London. However, I saw significant changes over the years and none of them positive. I haven’t been in a bookies for at least three years. They are just unpleasant places to visit.
Access to bookies was always important, particularly as access to online prices dried up faster than ever. The single biggest positive being the anonymity that they afforded you. Over time that has changed as the bookmakers would counter that.
People may think it is a myth that bookies would have photos of some punters in shops and who to look out for. That’s the reality. It exists. They would have descriptions as well not just photos. They would analyse hand writing and betting slips. Never have I written left handed so much! They would do everything they could to encourage people to use reward cards. Both so they could encourage irresponsible behaviours but also to know who someone was. If you didn’t use the loyalty programme you stood out.
The shops would also have minimal cash in them (both for security purposes and wanting to encourage people to use debit cards). It was the biggest pain in the backside that if you wanted to collect even £300 in cash, that you would have to go at certain times or comeback other days.
Heaven forbid you would want to collect a couple of grand. They would give you the run around for days trying to get paid out. It was utterly pathetic and is honestly a sign of the times. I always remember collecting almost £50k in cash from a Ladbrokes. They made it so ridiculously hard it was untrue. Ended up being escorted to their bank to get it.
One of the reasons I don’t do shops any more is that it is so dangerous walking anywhere with large sums of cash. I lost count of the number of times I saw violence in a shop.
I will always remember one where all four FOBTs had been destroyed. The cashier said they never report the damage to the machines as they didn’t want the attention. They just send a team round to fix them. It says it all. All about perceptions for the bookie.
Shops will still be a good option for some but tomorrow I will talk about other issues with bookmaker shops.
ProPunting 