I had hoped for so much more from the recent BBC1 series Britain at the bookies but in the end I think we got pretty much what I expected which was a series promoting the bookies in a mainly positive light. This was a great opportunity to show what truly goes on behind the scenes and how sports betting is just used to facilitate and promote fobts.
The bookmakers want fixed odds betting which really is akin to running an amusement arcade which if you scratch the surface is all the bookies are. Online they hold all the cards and a few up their sleeve as they can easily monitor and restrict any customers who they suspect might have an edge , now I understand that they cant accept big players to win continuously but I'm of the opinion if you are a bookie you should accept that some customers win and some lose and although I except some restrictions on accounts would need to in place I also think this should be made clear on opening an account and be visible on all pages and betslips. If the bookie was to restrict to a minimum and it was clearly stated on the website then we would all know where we stand and what restrictions could be , even if the bookies restricted accounts to a minimum £5 -£10 stake we would at least know where we stand and would still be able to have a bet if we chose to but instead the bookies just stop us from sports betting or restrict to pence.
Britain at the bookies gave us a glimpse of these type of restrictions in the first episode when office worker sean was beating the bookie and starting to have his online accounts restricted , this gave me hope for episode 2 and I hoped we would see more of these type of restrictions but that angle was then ignored after only a brief mention in the first episode.
In episode 2 we got to see the racing post columnist and golf tipster steve who had turned £100k into £25k , I wont be following his tips and this gave the impression that even the best tipsters cant beat the bookie , he and his betting seemed desperate and if he is losing at that rate the bookies would no doubt welcome him into their shops but online he must have had heavy restrictions purely down to the amount he staked but there was no mention of this.
Then came the bookies favorite the £1 - £5 punter who was not value savvy and was happy to have a small punt at any odds on offer , if you go to the track you need to back before you go if you want any value so although he had luck on his side and he hit a few winners he was truly the bookies friend , the small stakes sports punter , now if it had been a fobt customer you know the bookies friend is then the £50 spin customer
Also in episode 2 we saw the generous traders offering 5k at 2-1 which was absolutely fine , no problem , what they failed to show was the customers who go in their shops who want as little as £30 on odds as low as 2-1 having bets rung through to traders and restricted to lower amounts or refused completely.
Episode 3 really made me laugh as a dinner was put on for corals best customers , a nice day out with lunch and a phone call to the traders to get the info on the best chances of the day and all this for his best customers one being a pro punter. So the pro punter backs the traders tips and wins a couple of grand and has a marvelous day thanks to coral , what a fabulous company coral are or at least thats what they wanted to portray and thanks to the help of BBC1 they pulled it off. Now if Coral would like to invite me to dinner at the races then I promise to stake £30k per week in one of their shops and all I ask is you let me bet without restrictions and send me an invite to the next Coral day at the races.
By the way who thinks the pro punter was an actor , a pro punter who is the bookies friend who still manages to bet online , you couldnt make it up.