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Dear Mr Bell,
With reported profits last year of £420 million can you explain why your company has stopped a friend of mine from betting in your shops.In your report to shareholders at the end of last year you reported that the average bet you take is £8.50.
In your warning of a future credit crunch which I give you credit for forecasting you stated ‘If times are hard you may as well have a bet because you never know’.
Since January 1st 2008 until 30th June 2008 which is 182 days racing (leaving out Good Friday) my friend has staked just £5.00 on 66 days 36% of the time, and just a total of £15.00 on 90 days 49.4% of the time.
This is no one with any information from any trainer or jockey in fact a 68 year old pensioner.
He was happy betting in your London Road Brighton shop until he was told on the 24th March this year he was told by the area manager he ‘was a constant winner’ and that he could no longer bet there.
He likes access to his cash from his bank quickly if needed so he selects betting shops close to High Street banks.He then had to take a bus to Hove and back every day and was betting in your George Street shop.
He wished to place just £5.00 yesterday on a 6/4 favourite called Shore Thing and his bet amazingly was refused.
He admits to winning in the last 3 years but surely you must admit that not all punters lose every day or indeed every year. My friend tells me he is expecting a decline in his profits but was intending to carry on betting with your company, which is a firm he has used since Ladbrokes first appeared on the High Street.
So all in all, a regular customer and one that does not cause any fuss win or lose, one that does not use your shops toilets to take drugs or use your shops to purchase fake C.D.s.as so many do in your shops.
Around half the time he has just 2 bets per day and leaves.
He admits to never using the FOBT machines or betting on Lucksin Down racing.
I have been to P.C. World with him and he has now purchased a lap top and once betfair have checked out his personal details and I have shown him the basics of the betting exchange he will start to bet with them.
My friend is not one to complain but he has sent a letter to your head office in this instance.
If you or any of your staff access this site an explanation would be welcome.
Rgds,
Sorry but even the most Blue eyed kid on the block wouldn`t believe this one!!
If your friend is so well known in the area why didn`t he ask “Bob“ standing next to him to put the bet on?
If the story is true, it may be the result of the punter using a loyalty card. This apparently innocuous device can enable the bookies to track all cash bets placed by punters using the card and therefore stop the punter betting if they know he or she is a long-term winning punter.
Tony25
Sorry but every one of the bets he has had this year are on the systems thread!
Look under ‘Old Boy’rgds
Sorry but even the most Blue eyed kid on the block wouldn`t believe this one!!
Tony, have a look at Seagull’s thread – ‘An Old Boy I Know…’ in the systems section. It lists all of Mark’s bets from the begining of this year. I have no doubt Seagull is telling the truth.
What’s wrong with opening a telephone account with another firm ? He’ll even get a few quid by way of an introductory bonus. He can go in the same bookies and ring the bets through to someone else.
Well, to take a positive from your letter Seagull at least your mate will shortly be betting with a real firm when you get the PC set up.
UK Racings loss levy wise of course, but when did the offcourse mob ever worry about that.
folks the great divide is coming , as forecasted by Zorro here on this forum a few years ago , let me remind you what it was
Punters will be divided into 2 groups , first those who will bet in betting shops on Numbers , virtuals , dogs , and roulette and other casino like machines , in fact the betting shops ,willbe like mini casinos , built for the brainless and used by the them , it will be a losers paradise , you can smoke outside in the rain and rush back in to ensure you get more loyalty points …..
the other group will bet on horses and sports , with Betfair and some spread betting companies .merrily backing and laying , they dont worry about races that become 14 runner handicaps ,as they will get 4 places on the place market once there was 16 runners down to run in that mornings racing post , each way thieves will be replaced by in running 1.01 thieves
Lets not stress about the big bookies , they are history as regards Uk horse racing , they will show anything in their shops once its levy free and punter challenging , good luck to them
There is no reason for anyone to be betting with them any more , knock backs like this will just dissappear , you will always get accomodated on exchanges and whats more you can change your mind and lay or back mid race to get your money back , for goodness sake if you havent looked at this , then you really ought to do so as soon as possible
by the way the same Zorro (Paul Haigh ) forecasted loyalty cards in 2001/2(not exactly sure of date ) in his column in the racing post , how good is this bloke ??, when he gets it right he gets it spot on
have fun
Ricky
Seagull,
I said a few months ago on the systems thread that it was nothing short of a disgrace that Mark’s bets on unnamed favourites were being refused by any self-respecting bookmaker. I am pleased that you have now brought this to the attention of the main forum through your open letter to the top man at Ladbrokes.
I sincerely hope that this refusal of bets on favourites is given much wider publicity, possibly in the RP, on ATR, RUK, or even C4. There is a good story here which needs telling.
I’ve been critical of your friend Mark’s ‘doubling-up’ approach to betting, but I’m absolutely amazed that any bookmaker with brains would ever refuse any reasonable bet on an unnamed favourite at any course in the UK. They take literally thousands of such bets every day. Why refuse a 68 year-old who is having a good run with his system? Surely they must know that he cannot win in the long run.
Seagull,
Can you ask the old boy the secret to his success……..in getting on so long with sadjokes.
The only surprise in this story is that he lasted so long.
Artemis is spot on in saying there is a good story in this. But, will any journalist have the balls to write it?
We are very fortunate at TRF to have a good number of journalists and racing professional as members (and a growing number who "read only"). Time for one of them to step forward and take up the challenge.
there aint no story, bets need 2 consenting parties, as suggested let him bet with betfair 20% better odds no knock back,
todays levy figures(profit based) reveal betting with bookmakers contributed
£110M, whereas betfairs millions of turnover produced about £4M,
Paul Roy wants more from exchanges.
Lets not stress about the big bookies , they are history as regards Uk horse racing , they will show anything in their shops once its levy free and punter challenging , good luck to them
Ricky – Off Course bookmakers contributed £109.2 million to the levy as compared with £6.9 million from the exchanges. I think Ladbrokes’ high roller contributed more than double the amount that Betfair did, so I think your statement is perhaps a tad premature?
[/code]Yep OK – I think Ladbrokes punter was behind most of the 16 million jump in off course telebet contributions!
Barry / Tdk , I was expecting you to roll this out , and of course you are right about the levy
However , bookies wont have the monopoly on horse racing punters indefinitely , exchanges will grow relentlessly , and the levy will die because the bookies will kill it , who knows what will replace it
so before you get too indignant , lets not forget where the value lies , if you are a horse racing punter you must play the exchanges , funding issues are what Mr Roy and his chums have to sort out
have fun
Ricky
Bit simplistic I’m afraid Ricky…
I’m not anti-exchange – I bet on Betfair regularly and a lot of bookmakers openly declare that they hedge on there and on Betdaq. That said, I am genuinely surprised that only 4 or 5 million is finiding its way back to racing from Betfair. I hear that there are a couple of punters on BF that are winning well into 7 figures on Horse Racing every year, tax free.
In that context, I would suggest that something isn’t quite right?
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