The Good, Bad and Ugly – your say

These latest scribblings are given over to your say following this column’s look at the ugly side of bookmaking

There was quite a reaction to the last Of Course column which looked at bookmaking practices – here, with a little judicious editing, are what some of you said in response:

• “My mate owns an independent betting shop up here in Scotland. He’s seen off the Hills and he’s hoping the Ladbrokes will go soon. Was in Ladbrokes today trying to back Que Amoro for the City Walls at 6-1. Not available in shops ffs. High Street betting will be gone in five years I’d say.”

“Bookies only asking for ID once you withdraw is another pain in the a*se. Do it upfront or not at all. My niece got me a set of accounts and it was a real ball ache getting the cash out once the accounts were dead. All sorts of cr*p required from passports, council tax bills, bank statements etc, etc.”

• “Can’t remember the last time I bet on course with the books as Betfair always better, unless you happen to get shafted with the premium charge from time to time.”

“The general lack of balls from trading teams has to be seen to be believed sometimes. Last week was knocked back from £200 to £100 at 7/4 in a Hills shop which is not unusual. Made my way to another Hills shop and the staff were straight on to PTL for £180 7/4 and the whole lot was refused. Hills rules are PTL for £200+ but some staffers ring for anything three-figures – pathetic really given we aren’t talking massive bets here.”

• “The online profiling practices are horrific. One of my distant relatives  was relating to his mates recently about his job in Gibraltar rating clients and the bonus schemes for higher profits in his group of clients. He had no idea I punted ante post etc. Sad truth is he was hired to do that, identify dangers but encourage losers. He was more slots etc but when I collared him later he said the racing punters were ranked on a scale 1-10 of ability and quickly shunted if the rating got to eight. Aim was to keep the customer base at three or below, ie, low risk and any big win was just luck.”

“I find the lack of consistency deeply frustrating. I’ve won more from bet365 than any other firm in the last 10 years – still get BOG and free bets from them! Never had a winning bet with Boyles – shut down after four bets!

• “I lost four accounts in a week once. I put screenshots on Twitter of four bets all £10 or £20, all reduced to pennies. Got into a conversation with an ex-trader and ended up informing him of some of my P/L figures. He said basically “think yourself lucky you got away with it as long as you did. As a trader if I can find 50-100 accounts like yours and shut them down I’ve saved the firm £100k-£200k and will get my yearly bonus.”

“bet365 lasted the longest, BetVictor the shortest. Three darts bets on a tournament they sponsored and I was gone. Marathon bet the best for me now but they aren’t good for horses.”

• “Sky Bet – restricted to winning about £100 per bet. I contacted them, said I know the score, it’s part of the game these days, but can you just let me know what I’m allowed to win so I don’t have to mess about getting knocked back. No reply – restricted to pennies! You can’t even ask for clarification.”

“Unibet – Aintree preview night. Ruby Walsh talked Alan Algar into offering those present £50 on Might Bite at evens. Opened an account there and then and got on. Had to remind Algar twice on Twitter to get the difference between the winning odds and even, eventually got paid. Immediately restricted.”

♦ The first part of The Good, Bad and Ugly http://wp.me/p8e3Dl-4qe