Betting Shops in the UK
January 29th, 2014 at 12:17:29 PM
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I'm curious as to how a betting shop in the UK compares to sports betting in Nevada. Things like limits, government regulations, quality of lines etc. I'm curious if you can visit a Coral betting shop and bet the same menu and odds as the website or not. I'm planning a visit to London and didn't know what to expect in terms of betting. Any information helps.
January 29th, 2014 at 12:55:17 PM
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Quote: 1arrowheaddrI'm curious as to how a betting shop in the UK compares to sports betting in Nevada. Things like limits, government regulations, quality of lines etc. I'm curious if you can visit a Coral betting shop and bet the same menu and odds as the website or not. I'm planning a visit to London and didn't know what to expect in terms of betting. Any information helps.
Dingy, grimey places in the most part, though some of them aren't bad, and one or two were down right pleasant enough to spend a couple of hours with the Racing Post, a coffee and a friend making some bets of the nags. Though far superior is to visit the race courses for the same sort of entertainment.
I've not seen too much difference between the lines on the web and the lines at the shop. The TVs generally are playing the horses or dogs all the time. I never played high enough to hit any limits, I am sure there would be some ceiling.
Winning are not taxed (the government taxes the shops on their profits now, they used to tax winnings). The book always seemed pretty good, and I saw no obvious edges in the main stream sports compared to the US/offshore, unless it was an international football (soccer) game or a British fighter. I suspect those days are less common now, as the spread of the internet makes it easier to find arbs on the lines.
"Then you can admire the real gambler, who has neither eaten, slept, thought nor lived, he has so smarted under the scourge of his martingale, so suffered on the rack of his desire for a coup at trente-et-quarante" - Honore de Balzac, 1829
February 2nd, 2014 at 12:50:05 PM
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It would be unfair to compare them with the sports halls in Nevada as they're in a different business. They've certainly got better in recent years but you'll see them in nearly every high street. As well as horse races there are greyhounds and virtual racing to bet on. You can also make bets on football etc. Until they reach a live show the bookies set their own odds, so there's opportunities to shop around (for instance you could get 5/6 and 11/10 on the SuperBowl).
On the horses the SP is now worked out by computer, so personally book values aren't as good as when it was done by real people using the 1/3 ruie. Also it seems that prices get slightly worse just before the off and some on-course bookies have wiped their board so the price isn't so readily available.
The best bookie I saw was in Dublin which was the ground floor of a casino (other floors) just off the central street.
On the horses the SP is now worked out by computer, so personally book values aren't as good as when it was done by real people using the 1/3 ruie. Also it seems that prices get slightly worse just before the off and some on-course bookies have wiped their board so the price isn't so readily available.
The best bookie I saw was in Dublin which was the ground floor of a casino (other floors) just off the central street.
