A Wordsmith post
Horseracing has been regulated for centuries by the Jockey Club. The associated betting industry which started on the racecourse was regulated by law. Cash betting could only legally be undertaken on the course. Off the course, betting could only be undertaken by credit account. An off-course punter could only place a bet in person or by telephone if they had an account with the off-course turf accountant who had their own arrangements for the account to be settled, usually on a weekly basis. It was against the law to bet in cash off the course, but nearly every off-course bookmaker had secretive ways of ignoring that law. Most bookmakers had their “runner” who collected cash bets, usually in a workplace, and had arrangements to get these bets to the bookmaker before the race had started. These runners had nom de plumes to avoid being identified if they were stopped by the law. Then in 1961, betting shops became legal.
The legalisation of betting shops was brought in to stop the unregulated cash betting that was happening off course with runners gathering bets from factories and pubs. It meant that the government could not only regulate but control by law the way in which gambling on horses and dogs could be undertaken. In later years it also meant that the government could start taxing the process with gambling duties being imposed. It was a win win for the government and the bookmaker.
In 1976 the then Labour government appointed Woodrow Wyatt as the Chair of the Horserace Totalisator Board, otherwise commonly known as the Tote. The following year he introduced the Government to his new strategy, Tote betting shops in every high street to compete against independent bookmakers.
I need to describe the Tote a little more. It is betting without a market, all bets are pooled and after a percentage of deduction to pay for the system and to also put money back into the horseracing industry, the remainder is divided amongst the winning punters. It was introduced by Winston Churchill in 1928 to try and stop people gambling with illegal bookmakers. The only problem was of course that illegal bookmakers operated away from the racecourse and therefore the Tote, which was operated on the course, was of no real competition. However, it did become a popular and easier way of gambling for many people especially because it offered place betting without have to have an each way bet. This totalisator method of betting is the only form of betting that is permitted in France. The Pari Mutuel has been in operation for decades and is the only form of legal betting on horses in France.
Now Woodrow Wyatt wanted to take the Tote to what some might think would be a natural step further, pursuing its original aims. Except there were now no illegal bookmakers because all betting shops had to be licenced.
Wyatt may be a familiar name to older readers here. He was a Labour MP from 1945 to 1970 but his flamboyant views and opposition to nationalisation brought him into conflict with Harold Wilson. He was a borderline Tory although he never supported the Conservatives, but he was a strong supporter of Margaret Thatcher. He wrote controversial articles for some of the big newspapers of his day. He was nominated for the Chair of the Tote by Roy Jenkins when he was Home Secretary to try and keep Wyatt out of mischief. This was a job that Wyatt kept until shortly before he died in 1997.
Peter Carver would have been working in similar circles as Wyatt during those controversial years of his in the 1970’s, in the newspaper trade. It was Wyatts proposal to introduce Tote betting shops in every high street that infuriated Peter. He wrote this piece for the Kent Evening Post in January 1977.
Peter started by recounting his teenage years helping Bill Carver, our father, to get the returns out to his runners in their various locations, some in pubs. Redhill was a small town, and it would not have taken long for Peter to run these errands.
The greasy bags were the old cloth cash bags which were used by banks all over the UK. They were marked with the nom-de-plume names of the runners who had delivered the wagers earlier in the day and now, if there were any returns, they were being delivered back to the runner. My brothers and sisters would have grown up with knowledge of these runners and the names. Peter was being rewarded in some of the places that he had to deliver to, usually a coke or sometimes a tip.
This side of the local betting industry was all over when Betting Shops were legalised in the 1960’s. Punters didn’t need a runner to collect their bets; they could place them themselves on their way to work or during their break.
Woodrow Wyatt’s plan was different. He wanted to muscle in and take over independent betting shops by enabling the Tote to have a monopoly in a similar way to France. Peter was quite rightly proud of Bill Carver’s reputation. He had been licenced by Reigate Magistrates since just after the War and had developed a standing amongst the betting public of Redhill. In 1977 Redhill Racing Service was coming to a natural end when Bill and Grace Carver were considering their retirement. They were being approached on occasions by some of the big betting organisations such as Ladbrokes, who were offering large cash offers for his licence. It was the premises that were licenced and Reigate Borough Council only granted two licences for Redhill. If a big chain could buy the licence from my father, then they could get a foothold into the town. Bill stood his ground and kept control of his licence for a few more years. If the Tote strategy to enter the high street had its way, then Government legislation would have been brought in to take over existing licences.
Peter was furious about this.
It was an opportunity for Peter to voice his feelings not only about the impact on small town bookies, but also to point a critical finger at a retired politician who was using his influence to affect a significant change in the social life of working men and women in every town.
Tote betting shops were introduced, but not in the way envisaged by Wyatt. They appeared in our high streets gradually and competed for trade against what was now becoming dominated by large chains of bookmakers. The independent bookmaker was now few and far between.
They were no great competition and in 2011 the Tote, and its betting shops was sold off to Betfred. The Tote still exists on racecourses and operates in the same way, deducting a percentage of wagers to plough back into the horseracing industry.
The high street betting industry has evolved into something which bears no reflection on what Peter might have described his glory days of the 1950’s and 60’s but his article in the Kent Evening Post is a reminder of what that industry used to be.
Clippings from the Kent Evening Post via British Newspaper Archive.