Parasite Pseudo-Bookmakers Arrive in the High Street

[ricky lake]

Quality Max , a great post …see I actually got a response from you eventually …

I agree with most of what you say , and am not trying to turn folk away from racing , that’s a tide too hard to turn , in fact attendances are great again , its the funding that is the big problem …therein we differ , I believe we will never have racing funded properly until all off course bookies and exchanges are banned …and have a tote monopoly

That’s not going to happen though …..so we need to ensure that a tote system owned by racing (dream on Rickster )is properly run

I think its a cert that the bookies will end up owning the tote , under a trojan horse guise initially …..so how will racing ever manage to be united and pull in the one direction , so we can enjoy quality racing at an affordable price….. probably never

Still its good to know someone on this outpost cares …albeit somewhat naive, as I truly believe those FOBT machines will eventually be the main item in betting shops …we differ on this view , time will tell whether I am right , I do not believe the bookies need racing , but racing sure needs a sponsor and or a regular source of income

Last thought …..is anyone ever going to take on the race courses …this is where the real power lies at the moment , they call the shots , and if racing is not careful , the bookies/racecourses will have a cartel that will freeze out all others……and then where will Mr Roy and all his levy board chums be ……

Good luck in the Sandpit

Ricky

[graysonscolumn]

Splendid last post, that, Max – optimism where optimism is required, and was nodding along throughout.

gc

PS Couldn’t find you at Minimum Value when I popped down on a whim the Sunday before last. Were you sitting that one out? Splendid afternoon either way, fish and chips as dependable as ever, and even managed a few nice words with Mr Carr. Nothing wrong with Minimum Value that a few kinder words and a couple of conditions races wouldn’t fix, says I.

Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.

[Anonymous]

Anyone see that weird looking bookmakers at Kings Cross? can’t recall a name but it was full of FOBT

[Anonymous]

…..is anyone ever going to take on the race courses …this is where the real power lies at the moment , they call the shots , and if racing is not careful , the bookies/racecourses will have a cartel that will freeze out all others……and then where will Mr Roy and all his levy board chums be ……

Wise words. The racecourses are doing extremely well, on the whole, but (as posters on the thread on sponsorship and race names have clarified) seem intent on feathering their own nests to the detriment of the sport’s image, traditions and fiscal security.

Quite how this imbalance of power is righted, though, is a tough question; because it tends to be the larger, financially buoyant courses/managements who need bringing into line, but any levy sticks the BHA and Levy Board can wave would affect the smaller independent courses worse.

Would a withdrawal of levy funding on a sliding scale, where sponsorship is

not

added directly to the prize value of a particular race, perhaps be part of the answer?

[ricky lake]

Pinza …the short answer is yes , but watch how the Irish lads deal with the same problem , storm clouds are gathering there as well , and it wouldnt surprise me if the racing authority there take some punitive action against the courses , unless they come to the party

Would anyone in the Uk have the balls to take them on …probably not, too many sectional interests , infighting , scores to be settled , the list goes on , the biggest problem though is that the biggest beast of all the race courses is the Jockey club …whose role has changed from game keeper to poacher , just look who leads them and ask yourself , is this the jockey club who for decades were the mainstay of british racing….

answers on a postage stamp please

Pinza you are in the right direction though

cheers

Ricky

[Maxilon 5]

Was that the one with all the favourites going in, GC? I missed that one because of family business.

Nice one Rickster. Again, best of luck over there.

Colin, good to see you back. You noticed any similar places in your patch?

Back to Oak. The chains/independents pay a large amount of money to SIS, Turf TV, the Levy, the Gambling Commission, the FA and other bodies, for the right to bet. Whether or not they pay enough is a moot point, but they pay. If these fixed costs are the price the bookmakers pay to have high profit FOBTs in their shops then fair enough. So be it. One pays, everyone pays.

This new company appear to pay nothing but rent and the usual property taxes to have FOBT’s in the shop. Most people in the area think it’s illegal. Because they take microbets on obscure World of Sport classics like Sumo, Kabbadi and the Lumberjack Olympics, that type of thing, the local council have so far accepted that they qualify as a bookmaker. The four bookmakers in the area have disagreed and have complained to the Gambling Commission, who have yet to intervene.

Kasparov/Mr W, Better Bet, Star Sports and some of the new incomers pay picture rights and other associated costs – though whether they are big enough places to pay the Levy is another matter. This is a different kettle of fish.

The good news is that virtually no-one visits Oak so far and I suspect the most it can ever expect is to accept the barmy and the barred of the town.

The bad news is that this is a dangerous precedent to set to those bookmakers who – as William Hill’s hideous and scary two page spread in Saturday’s RP implied – feel horse racing is a burden rather than a blessing. (If you haven’t read that btw, try and get a copy. The chutzpah has to be seen to be believed.)

[seabird]

"Colin, good to see you back. You noticed any similar places in your patch?"

Thanks, Max…………..no sign of them in these backwaters.

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