In light of recent events, campaigns and press, I thought I'd give my view on the world I'm in. Most of you are aware I run a retail betting unit for 1 of Britain's largest bookmaking firms. As a die hard sports fan you'd think this was the ideal job for me. You're right, it was. In truth if I didn't have the commitments and trials outside of work I could probably brush things off easier than I manage to now. So where do I begin, the start seems the best place. I entered the industry, relatively recently compared to some, in 2006. Initially for a different firm. At the time Sundays were 11-530, winter closes at 6, 3 days off at Christmas, Good Friday off. Only trading late when night racing on. It was great, conditions were decent for a job that I knew I'd love. It became quickly apparent that I wasn't being paid fairly for the job I was doing, I was made promises that weren't acted upon and I lost faith and loyalty in my employer. It was only a year later a role became available in my current employer, it was essentially the same job I was doing but on a much fairer pay structure. This also came with the added bonus of working at the football ground on matchdays. So once a fortnight I was paid to go and watch a match of football. Brilliant. I was a pig in shit. I'd found myself again. I quickly found myself moved from relief managing to managing the flagship store in the town centre. This shop had 3 competitors within 200 yards. It was a huge challenge, and in my opinion I excelled at it. But slowly the job began to change. Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (you all know what they are) slowly became the forefront of the industry. Painted a colourful picture by the bigwigs but deep down they carry a dark presence. I'll get to them in a short while. Extended trading came in all year, then Sunday's and Bank Holidays, open Good Friday, 1 day off at Christmas. All the decent conditions gone, an antisocial job had been created. Then came single manning. Initially just voluntary, in the mornings, if you were in a quiet shop. It was okay, not ideal but a couple hours here and there no big issue. Lo and behold targets were issued for the "voluntary" single manning. Then slowly pressure started to be put on meeting these targets. At this time it was still strictly no scheduled single manning after 6pm, on safety and welfare grounds! There was single manning taking place on occasion, again here and there you don't begrudge. Then it came. Single Manning Open and Close, with some shops being issued cashier hours barely practical to go for a poo. I was going to write my exact words with my line manager when this was announced, but they don't seem appropriate currently, I was merely speaking for my colleagues, those who wouldn't/couldn't speak up for themselves, the same people expected to be sat alone in what can, at times, be a tempestuous arena. I maintain now that this enforced single manning is unacceptable, unsafe and detracts from customer service.
Onto the FOBTs. For those who've been in a cave or merely stumbled across this blog on an unsuccessful search for a new pair of slippers, these are machines containing roulette and fruit machine games. There are campaigns to get rid, or limit stakes or whatever. Are FOBTs the devil they are painted to be. Sure, you can lose a lot of money very quickly. That isn't ideal in any situation. But a gambler will gamble, an addict will become addicted, whether it be FOBTs or something else. We have procedures in place to help those that need it, sadly the ones who really do need it rarely accept it. Playing these machines over an sustained period of time, you WILL lose money. Roulette odds are set to a 2.7% return to house, the Slots games slightly higher. The biggest problem I see is the punters that believe, like old AWP pub style fruities, if you keep punting you'll fill the box and they'll drop. This very much isn't the case, the odds are fixed, the system is randomly generated by a computer, each session is independent of the last and the more you punt the more you lose. I don't play them. I am a gambler. I bet horses, football, tennis, NFL....well most things. In these I can decide something is value over it's true odds, or what I believe those to be. You don't get that option with Roulette. There are 37 holes for the ball to fall in, true odds are always 36/1, you get paid everytime 35/1. This isn't a value bet, so it's not one for me. So why are these so bad? Well a consumer can stand £100 of bets at anyone go, and these spins can go off every 30-40 seconds. Now let me quickly explain something. On the roulette the most you can play on a number is 13.85 at 35/1, making a £500 win. To make the £100 table limit you'd have to cover 7 numbers. This then changes your odds to 4/1 if you win, against true odds of about 4 and a quarter to one. Perhaps if these players don't have the basic statistical knowledge to understand that they cannot possibly win then something should be done to help them. I don't know if limiting stakes is the answer, some people bet those figures and you'd be taking away their right to do so. I think restricting opening hours would help a lot. I'd say 80% of those I've encountered who, shall we say, don't have full comprehension of their means operate outside of what you'd believe to be a bookmaker's standard trading hours. Maybe move the smaller stake games prominent, with a high roller section offering more prominent warnings over problem gambling. Maybe limit the amount of numbers that can be covered, or lengthen a cool-off period between spins. Reduction or pulling of FOBTs will result in shops being shut and honest people losing jobs, not because they have to, but because they've said they have to and the blame can be shifted. While we're on the subject of true odds I'll share what I believe to be a bigger scourge of the modern day betting shop. Virtual Racing. Basically events consisting of cartoon horses, dogs, cars even football matches. Right firstly there are far too many of these. Today there are 177 virtual events here. 68 of these had been "run" before the first real event at around 11am! These go through as lottery events and take pounds off punters that could be put towards real events and furthermore the levy. Now if they are lottery events this means there is an equal chance of any given result. So if I take the 106 at Portman Park, a 15 "runner" event, the true odds of each "horse" is 14/1. So how is the favourite Too Hot to Trot in at 9/2, a full 9 and half points short, and Twilight Read 66/1, how has drawing number 3 got a 16.69% better chance of winning than drawing number 14?
So in summary, my world has been broken by virtual events taking over real ones, I've made attempt to move departments, not only to continue to enjoy my career, but also to put my skillset to best use. Sadly the door isn't open, or at least it hasn't proven so for me. Will the single manning change? Who knows, I very much doubt it. Will FOBTs improve? That depends on the campaigns and what they fight for. The advice I'd offer is only punch your weight. Start gently, I think there has been some quite heavy handed anti-FOBT tactics. If I break it down gently, in warfare when you hit an opponent, they'll hit you back, as hard if not harder, when this opponent is more powerful! than you then it's often a bad idea. Yet if you can get to the table with the generals of the other side and discuss your issues then sometimes a middle ground can be found. The bookmakers are going to defend their key product to the hilt, and so would you if it was yours. What you have to do is detail, with facts not slurs, what you believe wrong. If necessary they'll make the adjustments. As I've said before maybe the consumer can be better informed of the product they are buying into, most won't listen, but we could certainly help those willing to. Do I still love my job? Yes, I get paid to watch, discuss, demonstrate and sell my passion, I'm not in love with my employer but I'm sure we'll work it out. Would I prefer to work elsewhere in the industry? Yes, my skillset would be much better put to data, odds, stats something numerical anyway. Can The industry as we knew it be saved? I don't think so, as I said at the top, my world is broken, it's changed, a completely different world. But the same can be said of the one outside the doors to. I'm not sure how this will read back, I've pretty much written it freestyle and will publish as such. I hope you like it and I'd be happy to discuss any points you agree/disagree with.
Thanks for reading.
R.I.P Andrew Iacovou, robbed of life whilst merely carrying out duties of the job that he, like me, was no doubt passionate about.
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