An Occupational Analysis of the Sports Bookmaker

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Alberta Gambling Research Institute Alberta Gambling Research Institute

1983 An occupational analysis of the sports bookmaker

Patterson, Brent Andrew James

University of Alberta. Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation. http://hdl.handle.net/1880/41366 Thesis

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, J . . . .. * .. .- . . ' .. ? . I*. ,. . . - f ;' ABSTRACT * -, - ! r ' 7, I '. I . -. . . The purpose- of this stuby was to investigate the*rol.e,o/ the ' hok,kker ih society. .To ,,acco.mpl ish. this task, interviews were conducted . . ' -. ?- .. with' bookmdrers in the province of Alberta. . In totql,,ten bookmakers were interviewed, none of whom took wagers - on horse racing. The hoke 'racing bookm&ke;s woubd not consent to be ". - interviewed. Each bookmaker was 'visited&ice a"d in some Gses three. 1 times to gather sufficiant. &$a...... - '. All bookmakers ,were from a lo& class background which usually. '- - ', - 4. &ant they were members of a large fayily and'that they were not npfive . -. -' born ~bnardlans. All of the bookmakers were single although two of them. . . '- ' . had.been ma'rried, but mly-fo;. a 4rief pekjod. fhe nature of- the

buslness s'eemed to inhibit q conventional marriage and as a result none . * o,f them saw marriage being in their future plans. 'I* * , The'hokmakers all had iather predictable-relationships with peo~le who were ad intebral parf of their business. The bookmakers' clients

*. are his lifeline and as such are treatedfwith respect and in a very .. businesslike manner. Contact with other bookmakers also mbst be

. . maintained be~pysethey use each other for lay-off bets. As h aGsult . .- these interviews. are usujl lyvery cordial yet businessb ke. The pol ice - were not'a maj~Thindrance to the bookmaker. ,Qy-ally boih parties -

stay out of eactr'others way. Only if the bo'bkmaker rs extremely open

in his dealings do the police step in.

The bookmaker is a ma" runding a business. He extends credit%kd . ' expects'prompt- Payment from his clients just as they expect the same . from him. Transactions cease if either party does n,ot meet their . ' .I . . .* r' . -

I iv : r

8 . Z . - to eit.her the bookmaker oy.clie?t being a bad risk. 0' A friend, a businessman.. this is the bookmder. Legal ized gambl ing will. not 'eliminate him ai hi offers too many bencfjts to his clients. Foiexample, crsdtt and tax free winnings enshe that he will always be avund despite effdrts by the government to eliminate him. .

w . . .,'

\-, . . Sdth, the thesis chairman, for his guidance,an(t assistance in helping

to complete this endeavor. 'Ihanks also go -out to Dr. Harvey Scott and

Ken Cunningham fot their assistance in helping this thesis become a

reality.

Special thanks gpes out to my mother and step father for whom

vithour their support this thesis could not have been completdd. . . . * Also thanks to my wife Loreen who put up with mp unending . . - -- . "4 * procrastination but who continuously gave me her support and love through to che completion' of the wrk.

,I ' , And, flnally, to. Wes Mcgomecy whose support was very instrumentth b. -. in my being able to'undertake tMs project. 5 S .- ' .I * &I Occupatidnal Analysis of the Sports , Bookmaker . -...... ' ...... 1

me Problem ...... & ... 2 ~urtificationdf the Study...... , 3 DefinitionofTerms ...... 3 I.I Outlfne of the Study,

REVIEW OF LITERATURE A ambling Through the Ages '...... m-' 6 Why people' Gamble ...... : ...... 11 Aptitudes Toward Gambling ...... 23 The. Bookmaker ...... :,...... 26

The Wirerooms ..... ; .... .,.'.... 28 * I. The Bookmakers Odds ...... 33 I I I t The Feasibility of Legalized Bookmaking ..... 35 , Scandals ...... '...... -- 37 FIETHODS AND PROCEDURES .. . . The Sample ...... , ...... \. .. 41 The Research Instrument ...... 42 Participant. observations ...... 43 ,YT t Methods and Procedures ...... 45 kalysie of Data .... : ...... 45, ~imitatimisof the' Study...... 47

Delimftations of the Study ...'...... 47

4 . . 0

/ vii , &xAaliz&ion. bf a Bookmaker ...... - ~ollea~ueshi~..... , .' ...... Clinetele ...... : ......

~icBoakma&er.and Ihe Law ......

Problems in Being a ~ookmaker .....f: ... The Bookmaker's Income ...... , . . Relations v.itl~~others' In 'and round the Business , . . . . b S~URYAND'~~NCLUSIONS ,

Conclusions ...... '...... '. I Implications ...... Reconmendations,Zor Future Study ...'.....

., . . .APPENDIX A - Questionnaire ...... APPENDIX B - Daily Log......

REFERENCES ...... ; ...... F . ' .An.*DcCu~ationalAnalysis 0.f the [email protected] - I \ 1- aq. is * - l'hereVare no precise figur& to how much pmey gadled. . . ,rPuyi~North brica, but it ia estimated i. bbbg sgmt on.education or defense each year (King 1969). As . ' 'are cohtting staggecing sum of money to promote legal'and iilegal - Cr , .gambling. , * .) . . Some aapects of the gambling industry;are open to public *. rt?"'- For example, .there is a mass of data on horae racing, lotteries, caairios

,.-and card games. yet d&spite the availabi'lity of these facts va still t s knar very little about the overall gambling induntry. One df the I reasons we knov so little about gambling is because much of it is

illegal. ;, , ' . . . In North Americi the most prbminmt illegal gsabling role is that of

the bo6lrmaker. It is felt that by btudying this role we can obtain a

. .. better und&standing of the extent of gambling and provide ansvers,to ' .questions such as: who gambles, hw much they gamble and what they gdlq a,

A< thin mmmt someone in North America is phoning a'bookmaker to / place a bet on some sporting event. These people see nothing wrong with

w~ae'they are doing. 'They are simply taking a chance, a luxury many of

them can afford. To them r Uoakmeker is a man or woman with vhom the . , do busin&m, $uch like a stock specialist. * . ..It. is estimated that in the llpited States aloqrr, there are 306.000 \ , boohikers who ;mploy an additional 1,!00,600 helpers. This amounts

to* 1.600,000 people wbo &rn,'their' iivelihbod in this manner (Lester, . , 19;9). Des& tbe,c+derab,le naer of people inwlved inayhung "a *, ,. . - - little is kkwn *out . rhye people* are really like. A vjor aih of . ' thi. study 1.~9~provide a pTfke of the hookmaker, who he is, and hov . -. I C. - - he operates. . I . . 1 ' ' The Problem -, *.. - '. . 'The bookmake? oateneibly faces many prdblerm in trying t.0 c~Ttyout . .& ' t' his b,qiness transactians. Police harassment. alleged Fnvolvtment vith ''. . ,'a . 'o~ganizedcriol and a negative public image result in difficulty for ., - I . the bookmaker trying.* his buafnesa. This sh'ady public lmage has . -, - . la&ly been due tb ;he involvement of sow boohem in the fixing of - - . certain games. The Cw'most prominenr+incidents being the fixing of the 1919 ori id Series and the collee baalytball.scandgld in the 50's. . . ,' mese scandals, along with the movie portrayals of bookrakern. have

resulted in an unsavory hge of the boolusaker.

Considering the popularity of illegal gambling, very little is '0 '. L known about the bookmaker and his m'lti-bi11'1m dollar business. . .,Through the rue of ilCdepth intervius. Znd' personal observations+ 'the .' ( i purpome of this study is .to do a role analysis of the bookmaker, to

analyzi the function he performs in society. As part oi the study the

author will#etermine har their initial involvement in book ma kin^ \ . .I , occurred, and hw it *as they got into .the buainema on a fdl tine b,asis.

buainess operations will be examined, including

a clientele. . . . ~n'adtlitidti,there vill.be an mdysis of their relatidnshib~with others in the buainema. as vell , Y, a diacmsion of the hazai-9s they face. w -' ; - /' . . '* .. . . . , .... --,. . -J . -* - . Jdwificat~Of the Stu* - . - .. . . c: . - % . . . , . 1. , 'Althou&' there has been a. s&stant'id'dmnmt of remearcti .&@h>ing I . - ' ,'. % .- 1 . .. in ieneral, little inforkioathas.bem pr6duck- tha,boo~~*a , - - : . ,, 1 . . - - J, , . . ,,role, ThL in a centr.1 role in the enfire gambling system and lit - I. " *. . nedq to be mderstood.befdre such a maibility a8 legnl*d ', ' . , . 1. . .- . ,' . - \ .# . . gamb1ingdeCdrcsar~aliiy: '. .4-,/ . - :a .. 4 . . * 2. ' his .study qhculd ansirt the 'pubkc in be&g educated abqut, the. . -

iaokmakei, kid his f,mcrion- society. he risult of 'this . . * ' . I. ' knw$edga ay.lettd to a changed- attitude-tcuacd thin poss5bly. ., . . . t ', I' . . . . . mimmd.rllChod aa.i of so+., . .- -...... e- a ,3. ,By studgkrg 'the b9bl.p.k~~we cdn'ffnd but more ab~ut'*o gambies. - 9 - i . hov gch is gapbled. and qn what, bports pe6plc-gamble. . .1 - , I. . . h . 0' ' .$ 4. ~&ry,fsv'atbdicsin sport' sbciology atteqpt ;o rmalyte deviant roles 41 . . : .. . # reiatd to aport. With spakt 'becodng so predominant in our society - . ' . * .np threat 'to its integrity require8 ana2ysL. - #, . . -1 . s.4 - - . . -. I. . a, , I' . . . . *. Definifh of ~eh BooknuErir: Is the perah vko a accepFs bets an sporhng. avents.. . ribbers. or- .just about any went whe're odds can be-set. . - b. i Also refeyed to B. a "bookie". I . . . 4,. hanebox: A &itching device:'rbich mu~plies'bet~orswitt~ td&hD: - - ; 3 v 3 huabe& that they -y ddl to place bets. *~idl-;, - - a-. . in the boo&k=r to be somcvhira .els; cabs of'a.raid. to . . . * i .'. ..culled becaumc the ftrst one discovered b'y pUce was ... . . *, . .I , hiddm (in-a cheesebox. A,~chihe.that would redirect a . ..a .*.. -. d. . , - telep>one call from on. phbne '.. . - . . Gdldbatt 1976). - . . closing tine:' he lut quoted set of poiqt ,

L .* ...... I. . . . '. . b \ - The act of bettifig on a future event or .series pf%ents,'

' ' whose outcome'is uncertain, gnd beyond direct paver /'or control

of the bettor; the placing of stakes in wney: in conditionsl

in which a commercial organizer, nanager or promoter, or any

.'\ . . codination. of these seeks to. Abtain individually or . 3' "' cbllectively a profit or share from.this activity (baser

-, Layoff:. If a bbokmaker is'receiving asymetric amounts'of bets on his b .. point spreads, he.can layof4 the excess by t&ding or Laking

"' bets with other bookmakers (F,adington'-@i6). . ._ . ' ~pknin; ' Line: The set of point -. ..' -. the week's games. l%ey may vary

<. and may change through the week. . Runner: Customer contacts hired bp the bookmaker, vho collect and ' , . . in return for a percentage of the customers' -- , losses. , I ' Wnng a ..s Lead: Somc bookmakers will anticipate hw their customers are going * . to bet a gam and will'layoff before thev bet: this is referred m *

A to as taking a lead. I. : The percentage of all betting handled thqt goes to the book- ' 0 maker, the ra'cetrack, or vhoever else is running the action.

Also referred to as "vig" or "juice".

' outhe of the Study . . The first chapter has provid$d the rationale and purpose of tSis 1. . .I study. Chapter. . I1 will comprise a review of the 1iteratLre related to gt%blihg general* and the bookmaker ~pecifically. Due to the limited . . , : 1. : . ' * rports .g&li,ng. will be presented. Zhe follqving topics: history of ,; . '. -. gdling, vh< gambles. *$.*people- g&le,- the ecanomicg of gambling and '- the history of the bookmaker will be included in this chapter. Chapter C7 .Iff QreSeUtS the re~earchdesign and methodolog) that was used in this \ .. 1'~. ' studp.-. Chapter. LV'outlines the findings of thetstudy. This chapter a11 alp4 present a discussion of the results and hov they relate to the I \. 9 -. . . ' previous llteratuf;. Finally; Chapter V provides a summa=y of the . .) study'~'hi~li&ts,the conclusions, ae &l u offering suggestions for further investigations into sports gambling. - * Gambling Through the Ages b .. An hist&ical glance at gadling shows ;hat it has been found in alppst every society, both ancieni and modern. ~he'reare records of , . , 4~amblingdating back 10,000 years. but as the result of archeological

.digp. whidwill be referred to later, we can infer that gambling has :

bqn,a fundamental human activity since the beginning of -time (Allen

k952).

' ' There is even a myth whish holds that Eve ate the apple to settle

a bet; sheahad a wager the $erpenk as to the number of seed? it

, . ' contained. She svalloved bne of the seeds and so lost the bet in . . addition to becodng pr gnaq,t (W5ss$ck 19763 : .. J'' . . . The .compulsive. g ler was ;ecognized as early as bibii.cal Eg~t. 'C Theser types rere Bent to, the quarries to work off 'their markers by '

honing stones for the pyramids. - In'@dition, the loaded dice used by

J. many of-the Pharoahs, who, inc'ic@i?ally. were said to be crooked gamblers,

have recently'been unearthed by archeologists (Wagner 1972). Gambling

painting8 and ~mplement's have been found in the tombs 0: various Pharoahs.

Also discovered inXEgyptian ruins were ivory Astrogael, the.earliest

knovn forms of dice, which. seem to have been designed to promote .

' I. .'.gambling (Cotton 1709) (Nessick 1976).

Perhaps the oldest game is ENCLOSING, referred to as WEI-XI in

Chinese and GO in Japanese. It is said to date back'to 2300 B.C. but

C first records of it go back only as far as 300 B.C. It is not known i the ancient Chinese used this game for gambling purposes; but ft is

. .. . .' . w L . likely sinCe 6t is'*wed for this purpose today (Ashton 1,898): . , It is known that the anciht ~4sgambled. by drawing or castin@ *lots. ~h: Bibfe giv:s many exanples ok mhng decisions by means of . . "lots". Thia presuppo'ses the-use of dice (Allen 1952). wses, for . . . . L exlurple, cast lots to dl-e the prolEsed land among the people of . . Isreal. . keywon at play from anot& Jew was looked . .. and could be-recovered; b'ut if won from a gentile it was not viewed as *

theft but was illegal on other grounds (Ashton 1898j. # ' Gambling was also vkry popular weece and Rome, although it .was .C - illegal #!I bosh cou.tries. h. Greek mythology. Palamedes invented. the

dice and .taught hi; fellow soldiers how to play crapt in corder-to L . .r* relieve the boredom during the long seige of Trby. He soon learned the .. practice of trick dice throwing, refer to as whip') . .* 8' khootiig or riaing the dice, and -was eventually stoned to death for these decepuve gambling practices (Reid and Demaris. 1963). Pdlamedes thus has the distinction of being the first gambling cheater tQ be put ' . to death for his habit*, a practice that has been carried on throughout hietory. . \ .I - 'Id first nounted horse race-took place in the Thirty-third hliad

in Greece In 624 B.C. (Kaplan 1970). The Romans had severe laws aialnst' - I. 1 ga$ling, but even they relaxed these laws duMng.their annual December feitival called Satymalia. The excavations at Pompeii have ptoduced

8 vast amount^ of evidence on gambling, fof example - loaded dice, tavern 7 signs advertising gaming tables and rooms, as well. gaming tables have .r been foundlin 'the corridors of the Col4seum and at the Temple df Venus 0 > . ..' * . I , . 1; England, playing dice datea bhck to the times of' the saxis and ' :, . .' Danes. Dekpite laws to prohibit 'dicihg continued ;b be pra~tised . . it. - . mtil the"time of Elizabeth I wheq it became even more popdar, possibly rC . aa the a< 21 more being written about it'in. the literature pf the , - ti&s (Allen 1952). ~rganizeahorse racing began in England in 1174 a * ., . 'during'the'reign of Henry I1 (~shton1898). * So far, gambling has been conaideted in general terms; however, 1arge.scale gaaling ivolved in Edrope in tde form bf lotteries. , &r&antd.fn the Mlddle Ages - tn Gernanv, Italy and England .- discovered that a higher ?tofit. could be garnered when non-ess&>al articles were .- . . . ; : , I sold &E prizes inslottery draws. The, First English lottery was he1 v * . . Qin 1569, the ru1e.s of the-drawing as provided in Roman times stated that *

~.eveiyonewho bou'at a ticket received a pqize. This form of gambling

became rampant. The English settlers carri&d,their howledge of . - ' 'lotterieq to America with them.

In America all of the 13 colonies establishe'd lotteries to raise \ revenue. , By 1832. 66.4 million dollars a year was collected through . lott?riea in eight eastern states or four times more than the expenditures

of th. federd governuht (curreds 1977). The last congressional attempt . to establish a national lottery was in 1823 when a group of professional

operators was authorized to establish a Grand National Lottery. The

< prod;pra pld a drawinp and disappeared. By the mid 1800's lotteries I. conatituted a drain on the economy and since they were often fraudently

run, theyawere outlawed in 1895. The Louisiana Lottery was the last

state lottery until N& Hampshire established one in 1964 (~urrens1977).

k of 1979, there are twelve state run lotteries. r I :. , .. at the N-rket Course in Bempstcad. Long Island. At thia time, all

b&b werk'placed between gentle'nen and 'sports (owners, trainers). As L horaa raoing grcv in popurarity, horses were imported; stud books were

I. . prin'tcd and tho +&maker bigan to 'take an eterest. He soon became a;

. . .integral part of the system; in' many instihlceg so powerful thar'the racea wele all fixed. It vas not &ti1 1942'. +en the Thotoughbred . . Raping haociation came into being, that any major steps were taken to > , .' . control thi. massive- fixes taking place: The bookmakerqtrere controlling who von by paying various groups, eg. jo{keys, off to Gin or lose. The

annual pay 011 of those running the.s'port nov amounts to tens of millions . -of dollars (Kaple and Lopghney, 1970). It, is big bmbess because of

the millions of North Americana who enjoy the excitement of bhtthg on

horse.. racing.

operated numbers& d to compete with the P illegal bookmakers. The numbers game is one in which the player attempts

to relect a sqries of numbera wbich will match the winning set. Eight

Btates nw operate.numbers garnee, and from the revenue they receive. 4 seem to be able to comuete with the illegal games (Cutren.1977).

In 1976, the Attorney General of Delaware ruled that a.sports

betting lottery would bd permiseibla under state law. Be two games ,

legalized. Football Bonus and Touchdown, paid off on a pari-mutuel basis

vhich means the odds fluctbated, or how much could be won,'changed, based

on the number of bets placed. lhis proposal met resistance from ,

National Football League administrators. Their objection vas'that the

operation would jeopardize the integrity of professional sports. Ils a

result of a lawsuit brought forth by the NFL, the courts ruled that the

,, '' L. 1, '

.%.. . i& the f1fs.t fe~weeks of existence, the 'spprts pool did not bekome I.'- p,d big a mmey maker as expectec. me problem was twofold; first, 1. : mople did not understand or like the pari-mutuel wagering system and I even though payoffs could be lowered they wanted fixed odd; as provided

by the bookmakers. Second, the players did not how'how to select point

.J spreads, whieh in the paat had'always been prmided by the bookmakers. * , - I ' In the final th'ree weekv of the season.. the statevof Delaware * sanctioned a new game, Touchdotm 11, offering fixed payoffs and giving

uoint gpreads. Sales immedfately shot up230 percedt. But in, the last

week the game rah into difficulty. In ftve of the Qanes that week the state's poifit spreads. differed from the boolmakers. This situation \ - . reached the media who printea a, story, with interviews from bookmakers on hw td beat the state. De!aware cancelled the game but due to public

pressure the Attorney General announced the game-should be played, and

I-. that all.jrinr)krd.should be paid off. The state naid off the winners,

wSich necessitated rekving funds from the lottery commissions emerRency

fund. Needless to say, the game is no longer inaperation (Currens 1977). . . 'Ihe only states now allowing sports betting are Nevada and Montana. but

, I In both bf tmse states the betting is state licensed rather than state t . . operated. * ' c . ? Very lfttle has been writfqppn the history of gambling in Canada. 3 Canada does not have any legal sports betting shops, but it does hpve

iiorse racing as a form of gambling available to the public. Unlike the*

pited States. however, betting\on1 horse racing i'a only legal at the

(Weinstein and Deitch, 1974). It was Fn reality th+ee different.

lotteries, one for every taste pnd pocketbook. As a result,of the

sucptss of thblptte4, there was a movement to establish a Canadian

&tiery. An act of parliament on, June 7. 1976, established Loto Canada

as a CrmCorporation LO;^ Canada ~a&hl$t). In its first three years ~$f existence Loto Canada made $161 million in' net revenue, which wad . . - ' made available to amateur sport programs, athletes and ptovincial ' ,

'treasurers. It fa now one of the largest lotteries in the world, and , has puw.ortedly benefitted all the people of Canada (Ldo Canada Pamphlet) \ 0ne.of the major reasons for this lottery's success is because of an

agreement between the federal and p&ncial lotteries based on each

receiving a fair share of the lottery market. With this agreement, the'

. . future of lotteries such as the Provincial and Western Express appear . seCure. ~otiCanada was disbanded a. little over a year ago, but there is -. supposed to be a federal government sporth betting system c&nrtencing the fall of 1987. 1 'I

Why People Gamble

There have been very few :;tempts in recent years to determine the

exact natute of gamtiling. Re modem research has tended to concentrate

on &&ling as an abnormal activity, yet when one looks at the vide

variety of irtdividuals 'involved in gambling, the practice seems illogical. ~s~chiatrbtspave loo1:ed at excassive gambling. as a sickness< which can sometimes be cured. Freud vas among the first to analyze the effects

of gambling. 9e suggested that masturbation is the "prim@ addiction", fbr which,all later addictions are substituteac That the gdling passion

is .&oup$d by a sublimgtion ~j-Jhrplayer's oedipal aggressiy against

his father (Herman 1976). Bergler (1979) has 'wri.tten more on gambling

than any other psychiatrist and has developed a theory on the cause bf

gadling neurosis. .His proPosftion is based on the fact that a ga&ler

is a neurotic with the.unconscious'vish to lose despite overt behavior

that is seemingly directed towards .winning. Bergler atrived at this

cqnclmion by ~bserving'~eo~lewho continued to gamble against all odds

.and chance. These chronic gamblers were suspected of having masochistic

tendencies. Rwuever, the compulsive gaubler con8titutea only a small

minority of mass gambling and; therefore, to fully understand "Why

People Gamble" one ne>dseto broaden tt& analysis..

One school of thought is that all ga&ling is a function of thq

. anhistfc state of mind. ~ll&(1952) defines animism as a reaction to

' chance on the part of the human organism. 9e also 'feels that because

element8 of chance are prevalent ,iCI all aspects of-society. the degree

to which the likelihood for error exists is a measure of that society's

progress and development. Allen (1952),..King (1969) and Newman (1972).

all agree that gambling can be vieved as a function of animism and is a \ special manifestation of it in the face of a conflict situation (Rosser

1974). Gambling is not only a reaction to conflict, but a symbol of . . conflict in its purest form. 1n gambling. che relationship of man to

his fate is exhibited. The question for the gambler becomes "Am I lucky or unlucky?". . Why has gambling tended to focus on games? An examination of games

reqeals that they are divided into two large categories; games of skill

and games, of chance. The two types of games are the product of two . .. C different states of mind working toward the satisfaction of the same ? 'psy&ological need. Games of chance are the products of the rmimistic . --* of mind hnd gamer of skill the product of the scientific state of mind

1952)- * ' Ihe difference bekeen these caGries is the criterion for. the development of ,gambling. Games of skill attempt to dominate and reduce

;t~;.effectiveness of chance by develop'& add applying knowledge,

, technique and experience; whereas games of change diminish skill. Games .

of skill rely on fate to a lesser degree than games of chance. * A Logically. .increasing man's capade to survive can only be t . accomplished by a scientific mind. . This is in contradiction to the -4 argument that gambling is able to increaee man's ability to survive.

In the gambling situation the participants have given up their attempt

to doninate fate and instead have rested their economic and emotional .., I survivdl on sheer chance.

Under the preceding premise, gambling in Western society is an

anomaly, because,Western society socializes its members to be able to

reduce raw emotion to. intelligence. Gambling denies this characteristic, , . as one attelgts to dominate fate by non-intellectual means. Our society

has always dsed intelligence to reduce its vulnerabil-lty to chance, while

gambling Increases that vylnerability by exposure to 'it. If gamblin~ r becomcs a skill, then 'this premise no longer applies.. .+ We can see the profound implications that the pervaaiveness of

gambling holds for us. If gambling is a function of animism, then

animism must be fundamental to our way of life. To eliminate gambling '

wuld; therefore, require the eliminatibn of the animistTc vay of thinking. If Allen's hypothesis is accepted, thendhe incizence of economic, . . -

I '. b - gdling can be seen as an expression of animism,. and as such it is impossible to eradicate.

While'the may serve as a gene

gadle, the follovipg material will specify which types of individuals

are most prone to gamble.

Perhaps the uos t comprehensiv treatment of gambling and society

haa be& provided by Devereux (1949). In his st~cturalfunctional

analysis he consib gambliiG to be a safety valve to balance ~reseAt

& society's'subscription to its conflicting heritage of Ppritaniswcum-

Capitalism, and also to Christianity. The structural features of

capitalism require motivatibn and specific characteristics among the

members of society. Economic goals are to be rational rather thm

emtional. Capitalism conflicts with some.of the values of Christianity 9 Hard.worK and self denial are often replaced with self saeking,

acquisitive actions. Devereux (1949) argues that since the attraction

of matecia1 comuod_ities exert a more powerful influence than commitment

to wral salvation, then gambling parallels our social values promting

competitiveness and opoortunism.

His final argument is that gambling can be fun. The snort may be

of intrinsic interest and placing a bet on one's favorite team serves

to hei&ten that interest. By participatih one may also play the sport

of kings and thus receive a temporary status boost.

Coffman (1967) proposes that a player gambles in the pursuit of

character. Althou& loss is possible, a character gain can occur. It

provides himaelf with the opportunity to present himself to others and

, maintain 'a particular moral character. The word "moral" is used by .. - 8 Goffnan la tha b-e'that chesr qualities are eLalyated by others to

he4 $0- a prqjection of the total' person. BY voluntarily participating '

. . in a fateful situation, one is able to ~royecta character as well as ' possibly receiving additional ffnancial rewards-and exciteraent. In

North America tbday mast outlets are cormnrcialized settings such as 4 race tracks., casinos andusports events. These events allov .any one to

3 get a piece of the action if they can pay the price. - & Klaumer (1967) and his analysis of streas seeking would agree with

the theory proposed by Goffman even though he does not nention gambling as an exapple qf strem seeking. He states- that-stress seeMng contributes to the development of morale and role_ commitment.

Bloch (1962) has propoeed an alternative theory to explain the

edntence of gambling. He stresses the. fundamental ambivalance between . - morally disapproved and publicly enjoyed practises and ascribes to the

economic system itself certain internal consistencies, wMch being

J unable to achieve self re.coqCiliation will relievk themselves by

discharging on a substitute object, i.e. gambling (Rosser 1974). , . Since our market economy is essentially made up of the same characteristics as

gambling, namely, chance, competitiveness and uncertainty, the utiliz-

ation of gambling as a scapegoat allows us to maintain two contradictory

value eystems.

Daviel (1955) stat? that the urge to amble, to risk a little in

order to gain a lot, to get something for nothing, is inhate in human

being*. Neverthelpss, tde hum& 1nature is such a complex entity that

it is hardly an explanation for gambling behavior. \ Rubner (19667 has developed a model in which he identifies five

urges he feels are present when people gamble. People rarely act for

t , . . -

-C - 1 16.

. .- . . . : - -+' * . - / only one reabon. ' The follwing'are usa&ly present in most gambling . , activitib, but.depending on both the game and individ? the composition ., . J

-I a . ,of the motivation-wmplex will vary. - - .? .. . b' 1. Pleasure of Uncertainty - a 0 . .* Studies of betting have shovh. that the favorites are never bac!ced as strongly as:nast performances would warrant. The th'rill. of a.

/ possible large win seem to *ow no infellectual bound. .

'1 6- *_ 2. Entertainment - . - . -. . . Semocial atmosphere,in a betting shop or ff a gambl* situation

has an ,intrinsic val-ue for people. Gambling at fairs or ~9th' C

a friends ueually evokes some form pf euGh8ria. , . . 3. ~haritableElation - \

Theme are the people who usually pupchase sweepstake, lottery or n >af fie tickets! Thhq people rationalize. . th&r bwing by :elling therrmelves it is for a good cause. InJaPge sweepstakes it is

seldog true that charity is the motive. but the pos.sibilitv of the

, grad prize is what lures them. - The buyers of raffle zckets-for - 9 ' .uller clubs are usually disguised donors vho eitherithrow their \ ' I. tickets &way or donate their prize to the organizing charity. $

4. hychological Satisfaction - , .- ., .4 Hany people gamble to have a chance to beat the odds. Some.w&t to

- trt ;heir fatewand others seek the social a~provalthat is eaFne\ - by a winner. I

S. Wanting the bey#-

- his is pomibly the major reason for people gambling. (The ,. - .. ,.. r ,.- -. calculated eeonopc risk ef attai;ipg a iorge=-Jpriz;. 1''. . . . . ~ebl&'s (185'93- the& of gambling prdvi&,one of the very few . . . I -'.oc~olagicd mpp~iitionsd explain &ling behavior. :'lie.sr i..bltn; . .. I . as ade up&< tim bjor 'elem&.- '&'he firaft anti earlieqt ia the belief ** J . '. 9 a. r. . . , in lyk. gthbr .el&nt in .thd desire for an an+ipated '&ner or -. . -. , . . . . . : \thF mrtiiem of tl. anticipated winni~~ga$e. his 1s the adpepr of . . . I . gdling which mfiects the lapidi- comparisdn pro&&tt in the

7 leisure .hl~e.frame of reference. The le&re class gadlea in the hop L. *. . . ., of vinning, but irithout' the anti~ipationof becoming .instantly wealthy . . . - . 'to. -be them from their present situation. , * Gwbiirrg behaaor haa been viewed aslboth a norma,& and abnormal Q I actioa. The f&ll~~ng.~oresearchers'both support the vicypoint that '

gambling is a +

and guPbling. Iiuizinga (1950) : aillo lo is (1962) and Adlcr (1966). h-4 'all describch gambling as 'an appkal to supernaturalt. p~~+rn.. The on ritual.' sup&stitidn and magic 'in gambihg is similar-to the religious : ' I b 1 , ' ,eystem of primitive animist.ic societies. I \ ., . "Clillois (1962) also related wor: to gambling. By Uing Huizinga's

. idea bf the role of play in the Pevelopment of civilization, play is a

' bmic hyarm actiopi -Play -Is characterized by (1) isblation from real .. ... life, (2J uncert+ty of outcoy, and (3) ufproductive vol&tary activity \ frod~Elcbyou can' withdraw at any time.. IXe basic f~r&of

-cka~acter(medby killbis a e (1) AOM or competkion, (2) AMCRYor 1- ' f ,) siarldtion, (3) +A orachance, .and (4) IUINX or vertigo.

. According to Cailloia, Alea is the play fop of gambling. Civil-

, ization requires the 'aubstitutia of Amfor ALEA but it remains in

sbciety due to tde failure of competition to result In rewards. -ALEA is

.a compl~tarya&t to Am! since in ALEA all are equal and have the

same chance for success.

Cdling .results from-the strain caused by 'ACON for members of

society who are unable.to succeed at goal driented behaviors. This 1 ' idea is the central the- in many explanations of gambling due to a

su-ented eoaiety. Members of society must also prove their , . ability.to take chances and cope with the outcome; this is a function 4 that gdling provides.

Finally, Herman (1976) suggeats that ganbling provides satisfact ion '. ' for urges toward decision making, self reliance and autonomy, +ich are

attainable b; onfi a small miAority but are present in all modern

iadurtrial societihs. Herman discovered that gambling satisfies the

hul\leeds that. the gambler may not be able to satisfy in hie normal

life. Re ~180noted ttat there are diff~rentneeds for gamblers ftom

diffaymt socio-economic classe%. Decision making was the main attraction for ;orking class men, while wor!cing women ganbled to bring excitement

into an otherwise boring daily routine. For the wealthy, gambling is

6. I C for fun, somcthing they can afford to do, regprdless of winningbr , . losing. .. b As ye can see, there is no one theory of gambling behivior that

,experts agree on. The theories are too varied and numerous to come u)

. with one exact model, but comm elementsflre found throughout. The

majority of themes do,-however, seem to identify one common cultural . . r/ variable. namely, the different social classes. This variable appears

to be ubiquitous in all-the theories.

3. I Criticism of g&ling often center on the econod'c and social I (re i costs for society. The U sha?ed >urve hypothesis states that the ?oar .

who cannot afford it, and the rich vho can afford it, gamble more than

t'le ndddle class. The middle class are supposedly* governed by the .Protestant work ethic, which requires them to work hard and save their money(Hetman1?76),

Tec (19bl) and Newman (L972) both p/roposed that-gambling is more

frequent among members of the lower status groups. Tec found that the I s upper portion of the lower class tend Co gamble the mogt because they .c .are quite aidfir to middle chspeople, yet-are unable to change their

4 position. ~~n had similar results in a study conducted in England; he concluded that a large proportion of the adult populat%on (80:)

gamble, that men are more likely to gamble than wonen and that manual

wage earnera gamble more frequently,pd they wager more money than

white collar workers.

Herman (1976) also tested t:;e U shaped curve hypothesis, but his

data did not support the hypothesis. He found that neighbourhooda of

C ea& social rank contributed their fair share to race track patrons. 4 \ Qeinatein (1974) discovered that participation in gambling by 2 various income groups- is ;oughly equal to their percentage of .;he total- population. Except for the numbers game, which is skewed markedly ' tward the lower end of the income scale, participation in ggmbling is '* remarkably consistent. Since participation in gpbling is-about equal

in all income classes, it would be unfair to conclude thargaubling ia

restricied to a single cl'asg as some have asserted. There aie more \ middlk income players, but this. is to be expected since they make up a

C 'higher percentage of the population.

With respec& to sports betting, the ~&dfor the City of New kork 0 (1972), a group interested in the numbers game and sports betting,

hiacovered that about five-per cent of its sample was made up of heavy . ,

bettors ($500 or more bet per year): but this group accounted for about

S5l of rhe total bet on-footbaldnd'8lL of the amount. bet 0n.ba.l .etball. I ' The heavy bettors caw Amehe upper class of society, those earning

over $20,000 per annum. If private bets are excluded from the calcula-

tions, then only illegal bets with ookmalters are left. Heavy bettors + acEbunted for about 857 of ali money bet illegally. With regard to '- -, . illegalrsport8 betting, the problem appears to be one of dealing with a relatively small proportion of the general population, as they account

-for the bclk of this betting.

b Ddvnes et al. (1976) conducted one of the few studies to gather infdrmaI' on-on participation in gambling as it relates to prominent social-eories. Ore of these theories is the Anomie Theory. It is '

assumed that ther'e is a ge'neral agreement in society on goals;

atherefore, pebple fwho have no legitimate access to these goals bill employ illegitimate or socially unacceptable means to attain them. . < .^ -ling vould be one of these means. The authors also point out that %'. those mwt well off within the lower class should experience the most

fmstration and thus gamble more than other members of the lover class. ' .

Their-data did not s*pport this the-.

bne other theory which Domes et al. tested was the structural--

functional Theory. This theory averssthat gambling functions as S

safety 'valve, that is, as a release: from the tension developed5by

modern society. Devereux's theory regarding the Protestant middle class * / vould predict that they vould be the least involved in gambling,. because '~ro:est&tism represents the core of resistance to gambl&g in this 1 society. 'Ihe data compiled by Downes et al. supported &his theory.

In an American study conducted'for the Co~ssionon thq Review of ' . . C - ;the National Policy Towards Gambling, twodssues were addreshed, namely. the prevalence of gambling and the characteristics of those who gambled; - , Of the adults interviewed, 61:: had &aced a bet in the last year. Males 'gambled more. than females did and whites more than nonwhites. ~!?t ZY . bettors (over half) wagered less than $50 during the year, 20': had bet reported total bets of over $200 annually: 5 gambling, blacks and hispanics bet twice

as'muchas all$h%r gamb1e:s. lending suppoit to the dotion chat \ minorities are more likely to gamble illegally. Other ethnic groups

(Jew8 and Italians) alAo reported high ificvJdences of illegal gambling . , activity.' Illegal gambling vaa,most prevalent in the central core of deities , possibl#)pointipk to qthnic groups participation as a result of sybcultural 'norms among group memhers favoring .&&ling (Lester i979).

The study also feu* that ,legal and illegal gambl'ing increases

in .relati& to income; the bui!c of the bettors had incomes of over

\

I'

3. *. $10,00!lr These oeople also claimed that they had some money set aside

for future wntineencies. This finding contr&l#~'s many theories that

claim garbling is an activity undertaken to enhance upward mobility. Or.

the *ntrary, gambling appears to be favoured by those who already have , e some finandal security.

&other variable which affects gambling activity is religious ,

affilliation. In Table .I there is a listing of gambling behavior i according to religfous preference (Ydlick et al. ) (Appendix 11, Page 6).

- TABLE I I The Relationship of-Religious

Preference to Gambling ,, Behawlor I‘ Pc't.. Who Gamble ] Catholic , . ' 80- Jews 77 Protestants' aa a ~h0l.e' . . 54 Presbyterians, Lutherans Congregationalists, Episcopalians 74 Methodists 63 ~'a~tists- 4 5 Bible Orie~tedSects -33

. Catholics and Jews were more'likely to engage.in gambling than were Protestants; this is a finding 'that is consisient with Devereux's findings. Kallick et al. (1976) also ~ointout that among Protestant % denominations, those with the strongest prohibitions against iambling, gamble the least. w

Kallick et al's study is considered to be the most comprehensive ever carried out in the United States. The main conclusions were: , m (1) gambling is not, predominantly 6 lower class activity, (2) gambling varies with ethnicity and religion, and (3Yillegal gamhlers gamble to , i. greatest percentaee of gamblers are between the ages of 25 - 65. This i

would tend to be expected since these are the wage earning years.

As for the gPnder of the gambler, women are considerably less

likely to gamble than men'. When they do bet, women tend to bet more on

horseracing, fooiball pools or visit casinos than on dog racing. ~e&es

do, however, tee part i~bingo three times as often as !o males. .The

,,amounts bet by women are much lower than men, and there are far fewer

heavy gamblers and many fewer addicted gamblers than among males.

As the prqceding suggests, there is no one theory ;hit explains

and predicts wSo gambJes legally. There does, however. seem to be some

consistency in the findifigs related to who gambles illegally. -. . . ' 7-

Attitudes Toward Gambling

Although gambling has existed for thousands of years, one must . . realize that .of'ficial public.opinion has not always been falorable.

%rge ~askingfbnis one famous pers-o has spoken out against- * gahling. He.stated that, child of avarice, the brother

of inequity, and the father of mischief" (Rubner 1966, Page 98). . Similac thoughts appear in the yritings of other authors of this ' . d era, for example:

,Gambling is an enchanting witchery, gotien between idleness and avarice: An 1tching.disease that makes sow scratch their heads... It bath this ill property above all other vices, that it renders a mati incapable of prosecuting any serious action, and makes him always unsatisfied wfth his own condition; he is either lifted , up to the top of mad joy with success, or plunged to the bottom of despair.by misfortune, always in extremes, alway* in a storm; this minute the gamester's countenance is so serene and calm that one would think nothing could . . , dirrupt it, and the next minutes, so stormy &d t&Qestuous that it threatens destrpction to itself and others; and a .. 4. as he is tramported with joy when hevins, so losing. is he lost upon the billows of a high and swel1in.g passion till he hath lost sight both of sense ind reason (Cotton 1972). In more recent times *same- attitudes are present. Virgil Peterson, Mrector of the Chicago Crime Commission stated that...

Mass gambling has always resulted in great social and economic ills. And almost every civilized nation in the world has from time to time found it necessary to - fesort to anti-gambling legislatio; to protect its . citfzens, that gambling is merely q method where wealth is redistributed from the possession of the many into the hands 8f the few (Peterson 1951). 'As . ,.the preceding quotes indicate, public reaction toward.gambllng has *remained negative in most case$. fiere are, Plowever, some proponents

who hold that some forms of gambling are beneficial to the public.

-Q Lotteries are one such examole. The follduinp, is a sample of this

~fn!~~g: \

1 - Isn't the state lottery the only known form of voluntary taxation? Doesn't it provide a painless. enlovable means of pay?np: taxes? lsnl t it a democratic instit"tion in , vhich every man has an equal chance? Doesn't it build -. hospitals and clinics - a very -valuable shfepard to , . public health (Lancaster 1937). ' '

T . Even most religiqus denominations toddy have very little Formal " opposition to gambling. BelL (1960Lin a paper on the formal and informal

positionkof the major religious sects on gamblinq . , /drily prorestants * had. a clea; position on thkmoralitjr eC g&blid. When other reiiRio;s denominations took a posi&on of gambling, it was restrkted .to .. -, . eXc~ssivegambling, which-they considered wrong because of its potentially ' hawul.. social-effects. . ~hoelewho enforce the laws against Eamb1ir.g. the police, also C have their own perceptions of gambling. Fouler et al. (1974) published 8:. --.. 25. *

a study on the ratings by police officers ofthe seriousness of bookmaking

,codared to the ratings of the seriousness of several othei offenses.

. - A lhajor finding was that the police officers did not consider

bookmaking to be ea-serlous-as any one of a number of other crihes,

inchding burglary, purse snatching, prostitution and after hour liquor

anlee. This is not to'say that the officers did not see bookmaking aa a

crime, but that they did view it as a somewhat less serious offense than

the others mentiohed. Fwler et al. also discovered that the police

believe that the public feels the same way as they do. This perception

of public opinion held by L\s police undoubtedly affects their ova

perceptions'of bookmaking. If the police feel the public is not con-

cerned, then there is very littk reason for them to become overly P .. concerned with bookmaking.

Although gamblbg per se is not seen to be a "serious" crime, the

enforcement of it is still ibportant to the police. The reason for

this is that Fowler et al. (1978) discovered the importance of gambling s' s' law enforcemenb stems frbm three special characteristics of illeG

gambling, these are:-

(I)-- Gqbling law enforcement is important because' 0: the

perceived link between illegal gambling profits and

organized crime.

(2) GQmbl$ng law enforcement is important because it affects

*(3) Gambling law enforcement is important becaus'e it has a +'-.

'significant potential' to adversely affect the department ' . . . itsklf. @s is the resulp of the preceding 'w? causes.

As the preceding, statements have demonstrated,. attitudes towards * f

gdling are not in harmony and probably.never will be. me next

section vill focus on one aspect of. gambling. that being the bookmaker.

who is usually viewed as being a somewhat less than desirable entity

In society.

. , 4 The Bookmaker

The b'ookmaker has been around as long as there has been gambling. 7

.. Messick (1976) writes that, the bookmaker probably. dates back to 4000 B.C. \

with the beginning of chariot races. Because information from this era

is-rather sketchy, a great many assumptions have,been made by historians

b about the.bookmaking industry h ancient times. Messick reached his

conclusion on the assumption that the old argument of which horse was

.. fastest, began immediately;.. he. also assumed that the proud owilers were willing to place wa&s on the outcome.' Xis third assumption was that

as betting became more widespread, the bookmaker nade his appearance

to offer odds and accept bets from interested bystanders.

The findings of archeologists in ancienf. Egypt with regard to

gdling make it difficult for historians td reason why bookmaking

wuld not have been prevalent. With the first known public horse race

staged in Egypt in 1500 B.C., Xessick states that there is no logical

explanatton an to why the bookmaker was not busy figuring odds and

accepting bets. From the beginnings -one can assume that boohnakers

were alsd prebent when Athens competed against Soarta or at any number

of events throughout history. For as long as man has been willing to

wager on the outcome of events, there is the iqlicit assumption that I -. . bookmakers were .an integral part of the proceedings. ' . ,' It WM nit mtii the nineteenth centurg that a major attempt was

made to eliminate bookmakers. 'The involvement of bookmakers was .growlug

rapidly, especially in the spott of horse ;acing. In 1865 Pierre Ollen

invented the pari-mutuel machine. By this time the bookmakers had become

so powerful it was they who were running the sport. The bookmaker? were'

Pving ;ettCr odds thanThe race *&k. me pariTmtuel machine waa t - invented to allow masses of people to wager as well as eliminate the

bookmaker (Ikssick 1976).

It took them 15 years, but in 1890 the bookmakers were once again

powerful enough to force the Kentucky Jockey Club to stop wing the

machines. This happened because the bookmakers were giving better odds * than the tracks, with the result being that people were betting with them wre frequently. For the following 18 years, the operations ;ef the bookmalcers'became a scandal because there wan no government control

The bookmdcers wete alloved to set the odds and payoffs and'as a result

of this arrangement, fixes were much easier ta secure. For example, if

too much mey waa wagered on a horse, the bookmakers would instruct that

owner or jockey not to win and pay him off for his co-operation (Messick.,

3976). 3

In 19.08, as a result of these scandals throughout the United States

involving fixes, horse doping and horse switching, the various states

began to reform their gambling laws and introduced pari-mutuel machines

once again. lhese devices made it possible for masees of people to make

bets bn horse races, and since not all peoole could make it to the track . -. every afternoon the bookmakers found themselves more popular than ever. / With the introduction of the pari-mutuels, wagering on horse racing once

J again became popular. This, hove er, did not cmpletely stop fixes.

/ J . >.

9. e I In addition horse doping and horse switching were still prevalent. With

the formation i(r 1942 of the ~horoc@bredRacing Association meaauns I were =@ten to eliminate these. practices. All winniaes received *

urine tests after the rke 9nd all-horses were tatooeh for identification.

t bookmakers, .the increased interest in horsi racing

e to want to $gamble on other -events such as baseball

&d boxing, and the- bookmaker was ready to oblige.

DurFhg thd era between the repeal of Prohibition in 1933 and the * Kefauver investigations in 1950 - 51, illegal bookmaking continued to along with the growth of .horse racing. The uninhibited growth of

regional and then national refe viw serdces tended to concentrate '

. I actioq on the horses Irhtil the wire seiwices came under careful scrutiny

during the early fifties (King. 1969). 'he wire services were set up to provid6 specialized_@fqrmation. for the boo!qake;s. Customers wanted ' + to know results fast so they could collect thei winnings and reinvest 8 1 the money in the next sack. To fill the void gamblers constructed their

oun wire services, which supplied race results. and other pertinent -

information to the boolcmakers (Messick 1976).

'C The Wirerooms The cornerstone of a large b~~kmakingoperation is the wireroom

where beta are accepted and recorded. At the bottom of a bookmaking

operation are the runners who gaiher bate from customers and call them

into the wirerood (Kornblum, 1976). The runners provide a vital service

to the bookmake= by allowing wireraoms to operate efficiegtly with

little security by not having to circulate traceable phone numbers V -. (Figure 1. depicts the typical structure of a large bookmaking opetation) , P (Kornblurn, page 14).

The wireroome are usually located in' out of the way offices-or . - '. 9 apartnmts that can be .leased for one or &*months .at - a time. Thdy . . wually wperate from 11:OO A.M. to 3:00 P.M. and again from 6:00 P.M. , to 8:00 P.M. daily. These. .times are dhtermined by the starting -times of ha& races dr other sports events (~ornblum1916). When calling into 1 the wireroom, runners or bettors must use 'a code before rhey can place a bet with one of the experienced clerks. The bets are usually transferred

during the working day to minimize disruption in case of a raFd. ' Should a raid occur, the bookmakers' policy is to honor all seized bets claimed .

by customers.

The next echelon of the operati& $8 the figureroom. This level is

where the day's net earnings are established and individual bettors and

ryners are debited or credited. This information is then passed to the

wireroom before the next day's betting, so players will know where they

stand (Kornblum 1976). 0

Pace and Styles (1975) have uncovered what they consider to be five

distinct bookmaking operations.

(1) The Memry'System: 'This isprobably the most difficult handbook b. to' apprehend and prosecute because the bbokie takes bets solely 7 from established clientele. comnits them to memory and calls

the business office only after thirty or more bets. All

business is committed to memory until he is called by the

business offi&e, or he contacts the phone spot man or an electronic answering service. (Figure 2 shows notes made by a bookmaker who does not rely on his memory) (Kornblum page 117).

(1 b

1 "Executive Director" - collects profits from direct . operatiohs end in tribute* - divides territories

/ . . "Central Operator" . . L - pays winners and absorbs losses - hires employees and contracts. . , services - - arranges for protection ',

"P$xal Management" \ -determines vinning and losing bet -'debits and credits individual - accounts -determines "bpt tom line" figure

"Operii$onal Headquarters" - accepts and records bets

'.'Customer's Man" - gathers 'bets. ,and calla .wirerobm

FIGUlCE l., Structure of Illegal Bookmaking . ' ' ". - I Ja.ck K. I The bettor 6th. race -- 6/SA yldii . 1- Santapnita Race T~ack' mi 2 . The horse ' . $2 to aha8 v :

The beftor '(4th race . . Ej,aleah Race Track.- . . " 2ndpostposition * 5/1. If horse wid bet . . I w Parlays to horse in , 5th race lat pole position $2 to win

, . Hap is the agent Schizp is the bettor I.. . .. ' . Informatigq from abo% markers to hdicate the * . track, the rac6, She . horse and the awunt wagered

:'Chis ~ecordspa a total of $20 bet and a Payoff of $6.80 or a profit of ' $13'.20

. This may be a daily or weekly record .

0. .' , w . . - FIGURE 2. Typical betting markers with interpretatioh and the .' b. professional betking marker found at phone, gpots *. and offices to record action. Reprinted'Yrom Pace. , , 1973. The Hangbook on Vice, p. 38.. w (2) "Ihe Employee Bookie: An example would be a person wha works.

- in a large office, but: who also takes bets on the side. Th~is

,is also a difficul~handbook to apprehend because he comes in -fi 7 I 7 * contact with the same people daily. ~e'wiilcome 9 know the

sports minded people and through his contacts may operate so >- ./ .covertly Ois co-worker may not know of his activities. The

wins and losses are usually handled on payday. \

(3) The Travelling Bar Bookie: Thia is one of the most connnon

operations. The'bookmaker will cover several bars or cafes in a given area.. . He sops in, picks up his action and moves into the next establighment. This bookmake; is easier to I apprehend by the police because often a patron will go in search of the bookmaker, allowing- the police to be led directly to the transactton.

'i. h

1) The Fixed Spot: The'boopaker must take khances in order to

4- meet the bettors. ' A spot where a'bookmker can come and

socialize with'his betting friends is very popular. A d popular fixed spot is a newstand'on a busy comer. This

is a natural because of* the constant contacts with people,

especially people who do'not have time ro visit the race track. During the selling of a newspaper it is nearly . 2 ~q%ssibleto detect a betting transaction. A good location that has bet.t

bettor to collect for loss& or pay the wins. we transactions involve cash only.

The phone apot frequently has the added protection of a black box,

or more commonly referred to as a "cheesebox". This is so that the

phone spot will have time to destroy the evidence in case of a police

raid (Figure 3 depicts a cheesebox security system) (Kornblum page 152).

As Herman (1976) and King (1969) bosh state, the odds-ere always in

the boqkmaker's favor. The bookmakers make a profit because they ha#6

an edge on every bet. 'hey pay track odds, but usually not in excess of

twenty to one. They can spread their operation not just to bets on the

races at one trait, but to a great didrsity of sporting events all over

the continent. .3 The small-bookmaker, if he is,skillful in watching his position as

the bets come in, can keep his booking balance by making layoff bets

with larger bookmakers or wfth a handful of well known operators who

.devote large capital to being "bookies" bookies.

The 'Bookmakers Odds

Canes (1976) in a study on the pro f&tball betting parket discpered * that the amount wagered on a single contest is similar for all sports.

The odds paid vary wi@i the size of .the bet an< the competition among

boolrmakers in a particular area. Where competition is extensive, the

usual tern are 11 to 10 odds and return of all money if a game outcome

equalr the spread (called qpush). Thus bettors must put up 11 dollars s to make 10,. the bookmaker receiving approldmately' 5 per cent of the total

betting turno.ver. This percenta is referred to as vigorieh by the

bookmaker. For a bettor to make "i money at these odds he must win

approximately 53 per cent of his bets.

The opening line for the gades each week is decided in Las Vegas

, by the professional gamblers (Cane8 1976). ?is -.line is set so as to 4 entice equal amounts pf-money being placed on each team. This line

may change throughout the week and late'in the week she final line -'

termed the closing line is published. However, not every bookmaker

offers the exact Las Vegas line to his customers (Merchant 1973). This

,is p=esumably-'becake there is a variauon in bookmakers' beliefs ?!out

money equalizing point spreads.

The Feasibiliw of Legalized Bookmaking

Sturgeon (1974) discussed the possibility.of legalized gambling

with bookmakers and they arrived at the followi conclusions as to what -4 Y was needed for the gdvemment to receive th&bookmakers' support for

legalization.

(1) l hey were all willing to purchase a ive hundred dollar d gambling stamp. This is a stamp which't wofild allov the '% ; \ bookmaker to take bets without fear of harassment. v . # . - (2) They would like to substitute the- 2 per cenc ~ederhtax

with a license'fee, which would run from one thousand to

thirty-five hundred dollars per month, depending op the. %*

dollar volume of their respective operation%

@ (3) . .They would pay taxes on their profits in the same manner as

do all other United States' husinesses and corporeions. -

. ' -. ' (4) They would wotk with the ~ede:al government or State '

governments in-designing a workable and realistic betting . \ ' program..' . , (5) They would co-operate with all law ehforcement agencies in

estdlishing and enforcing rulae to govern the day to day

P operations of the gambling business. 5. . . I The bookmaker cannot afford the 2 per cent gaWing tax the -.,government . wants to p&c>on him.

. ' &'&ha* (1974) and'currens (1977) pointed out, with the present systefn the legal games can never compete widh the illegal games. The

L * following-are the advantages they ci&d: .. ,. . k (1) No taxation. The illegaI piayer gets his winnings free

instead of paying 30 to 40 per cemt in taxes. L b 8 (2) Credit. An il+egbl bookpaker will give credit while the

+ . government requires cash up front.

(3) ~kghbourhoodGame. The illegal game is a socih outlet to

.l members of the community and they resent outside interferpnce.

The bookmaker, though 'illegal %everywhere in North America*except

- for Nevada, appears to be overatiqg at a tremendous profit h spice of 9 i

the law enfo.rceme~t~attemptstoxecrease his business. The estimates

of the total take by bpokmakers r&ge from 50 billion by Scarne (1967P

to'a minimum of 10 billion by King (1969). Estimates haye even run as ! -, high as 100 billion by Merchant in 1974. Whatever the correct amount, r 37. . . ,. , - . \ - . .. the booknmking industry is an .ext&mely large business. , .. . ..' \ * ' ' Scandals . &ti of the major worries of ?port aqminiatrators is the possibility . . I of amscandal, in the form of fixing a game or Hames for profit. This - 7 - .. '@ , -could bvoive players, coaches. ieferees, or anyone involved- &th-the tea&. Throug&ut the years there hive been a number of documented '- # accounts of file. in ppirt, di$Chave damaged sporC in the public eye. . -. 6 8 These fixes have usually involved b?olo.kers.. . Perhaps the best known ,scandal involved the, Chicago White Sox

' baseball te& in 1919 (Asinof 1963): The White Sox were heavily favored

to win the World series over a young ~incinnat; Reds1 team. The..team - 4 I was a very unhappy team, however, because.of the low-salaries they were I ' * L .. receiving. When the bookmakeis sqt the odds at 4-1, the CHicago players immediately saw the chance of rnaking.big money.- The players ppproached one of New England's biggest gamblers and Set the price at $10,000 per

man. The 'White" Sox eveat-ually did throw the series despite .spectactllar

efforts by those players not involved. @en word of a possible fix got out, an invistigation ensued and eventually eight players- ,bere indicted. ' Out of thiq fix grew an old adage: "Don't bet on anything that can tb1.V'' . r . (Meseick i976). , . . . In 1970 *Denny McLain, a pitcher with the Dewoft tiger.^, .faced

accwatione stating that during the -1967 season he had nbt only been

ansodated with gamblers, but had been a eartner in a bookmaking set-up.

This a~cusa~ion'wasfueled b; an important game UcLain pitched poorly in,'

and his team iosrbadly. As a result of this game and a further iAesti- '

gation by the Commissionek of'Basebal1, Bode Kuhn, McLain was suspended

I for half a season. B

' 1 Fodtbsll has also had its share of scandals. In 1963, Alex Karras

of .the Detroit Lions, who was a part owner in a bar, was associated with

gamblers and bookmakers. When this became hown to the press, Karras

came fo-ward and publicly stated that-he had bet on games, some involving 4 -his am team. ,What wasn't known at the ti= was the bet usually consisted - - . \ of a pack of cig&etteg, not some- fantastic sum of money. As a result of this involvement. Pete Rozelle, Cotmissioner of the NFL, suspended

Karras for one year (Slack 1975). Paul Hornung was also suspended in

the.same'year for similar behavior. The suspensions were to demonstrate

ghe integrity of the NFL to the public. Under no circumstances would

gambling on football games by players be tolerated for fear 'the publlc

may feel a game or games have been f.ixed. Mr. Rozelle has often spoken

out aksinst iambling on sportqear of damage to the sport in the

public eye (Commission on the Review of National Policy Tqard Gambling, I 1975) (Currens 1977). '*BThe colle e basketball scene has also been plagued with scandal. The abort is ready 'made for fixeac It is played nation wide and it takes very litrle effort to miss a shot or cause a foul. Another advantage is , * that book-kers put out a' point spread on the major games. This system . allws players m shave a few points to affect- the point spread without ?tentionally losing the game. In 1949-50, City College of New York

became the first and only team to win both the NIT ahd NCAA tournaments

in the.* e season. The school's success was brought to a ehocking halt in 1951 Ln sexera1 members of its team,were arrested for fixing the scores pf basketball .games. The players-had been ;eceiving payments .to

beat the point spread's in certain games. By the time the grand jury was ., . . dismissed, thir,ty-two players were implicated from 1947 to 1950 (Cohen e-- - -L .. . -A

39. * . E

.1977). What had begun as a New York City scandal, spread to colleges

in othei parts of the count&. In total, games had been fixed in-at 2

least Nenty-three cities in seventeen states. This was just the. . tip . ' of the iceberg. Since New York was the onty city to conduct an'investi-

%. gation, one does not know what was left uncovered.

Perhaps the? mast widely r'eported of the basketball scandals iwolved +

. 'Conaie Rawktns and Jack Molfnas. Hawkins was a pookly educated black man I who was Gery easily influenced. Aq a iesult of tiis naivety ,'~ackMol%as . - ' as 6 vieved Hawkins an ea&y tglrget to fix games. Althuugt~thd fixing of- danketball games was proven, Cannie Hawkins was wrongly accused of being

in~aiyedin'the fixing. When the Bcandal broke, he was an immature 3 eighteen year old who addtted'guilt, feeling it wai the only way he

I. would be allowed to go home. .It was eight years before his innocanLe \ was proven. However, there were forty-seve; players and forty-three . . . . L known games implicated in this scandal. 'Itrenty-seven schools were also . involvgd. The most recent basketball scandal involved the Boston College d team in 1978. This story was released by Sports Illustrated (Febru,arp

1981) and told how three players supposedly were involved in beating the

boolarakers' point spreads: Gnl> one of the players has be~nfound guilty 1 as of this writing and he received a ten year jail gentence. - There have been fixes in nearly all sports, the mst'visible being .\ . \ boxing, horse racing, Jai Alai, and soccer (~urobean)(Michener 1979 . It appears that scandals are going.to occur; but with 'the increased

scandals in Europe since bookmaking became legal, legalized gamb,ling

appears to enhance, not decrease the chance of a scandal (Rozellp 1976),

Phe research on gambling has tended not to focufi on the bookmaker .

yet he is an integral part of the entire gambling scheme. This study attempts to remedy this oversight by providing an in-depth profile of r I a -. * . . i s

I11

PIETAODS AND PROCEDURES . . b 'this chapter presents P description of the communities in which this

study was carried out. -Also included is the sampling method, a f description of the research instrument, and an outline of the data

.' &b * Ihe Sample

lke study was conducted in the Edmonton and Calgary metropolitan

areas. These two cities wdre chosen aa a matter of convenience, but also because they- are heavy gambling centres. Taken together these c4ties contain over a million people. Prom these two areae the author sought

to find a number of known bookmakers who had been or were currently in

the buainess as a full-time occupation.

It was ms&d that when criminal elements are involved that there

could be a great deal of difficulty in obtaining a sample; however, as

Polsky (1969) has stated, th'ere is one method that inevitably works:

In my experience the most feasible technique for building one's sample is snowballing: get an introduction to one criminal who will vouch for you with othets, who in turn will vouch for you with still others (p. 127).

The author was very fortunate to be introduced by an acquaintance

I. to one of the most respected bookmakers in the provlnce. In broaching

the topic of bookmakers with the acquaintance, the author was very

straightforward by coming out and stating what he was looking for.

h approach worked in this study, but it may not be apptopriate in . rq cases. mis made the prks of locating other 'bookmakers relatively *

word got around concerning the general'nature of

the study, a number of friends and family members suggested someone they

knew in the boohaking business.

The stdghtforvard approzh was used in all initial contacts with

bookmakers. There were some bookmakers who refused to talk to the author

but this was =re the excedtion than the rule. The three boolnnakers who

refused to be interviewed were &.race track bookmakers. They appeared

to have a mch mre apprehensive attitude when it came to the discussion

of their bucrineas. n,is lac! of access to all types of bookmakers limited '

the study somewhat.

The original contact made arrangements with other boolcmakers to mekt

with myself. The places of meeting were usually at the bookmakers' centre

of business, usually a lounge. The first meeting was usually conducted

with both bookmakers present, but follow-up sessions were bually alone.

With the two bookmakers present the straightforward approach was the

easidst. The conversation after introductions began with the author

1 stating the purpose of the study and asking whether the bookmaker was gilling to .co-operate. It was understood that all bookmakers. would receive anonymity.

Tbe Research Instruuknt

Zhe test instrument was a ouestionnaire which was derived from the

authoi's interest &this previously unexplored arka of sport sociology.

Although a formal questionnaire was developed, the sessions with the .book+cers"were very informal. The questionnaire contained both open - ended ahd closed questions. These questions were presented in no strict

ord- because the bookmakers often got off on a tangent wherebv they

anmered questions before they were asked. Thq purpose of using a questionnaire was so the author could

eetabliah a& uniformi,ty in questions he wanted answered. ,This is one

of the reasons a questionnaire is often uaed,in the social sciences. A '

lnjpr weakness of,a questionnaire is that if followed exactly. it may \ ,* 1 not allow &e respondent to freely elaborate or expand on an ansuer. ' .. This difficulty, Bwever, did not arise in this study due to the informal

quemtioning technique. %

Although you cannot help but contaminate the criminal's environment to so& degree by your presence, such contamination can be minimized if, for one thing, you use no gadgets (no tape recorders, questionnaire fonns) and, for anocher do not take notes in the criminal's . presbnce. (Polsky 1969, p. 121). The interview. queetions were designed to obtain a profile of the i . bookmakere. This meak questions regarding his family life, business C' life, his relationships with his colleagues and questions about his

relationships w1.h the law. The questionnaire was used to gather as .. - mch information about the bookmaker's life as he would divulge.

Because of the rather casual nature of the format, there was no . strict time limit set for the meetings. Each meeting lasted as long as t was convenient for the parties involved& the meetings were never - place, as was recommended by

sessions were eventually spent .* # vitH each bookmaker.

PhiFFTciuant- Observation. The purpose of a participant observation study is to allow the

researcher to study first hand the workings of a particular group and

thy predict or oipla* the workings of similar groups. The researcher ' ' atteqtm to attain meewithin the group and attempt; to share the.

attributes of that particular group. The resultpt is .a fe'ding for the

group which allows the researcher to explain.and interpret the experience

of the group. Ihere~areusually two'. varieties of participant obsentation, depend- fng on hw concealed the researcher wants to be within the group. Aa a i' tot9 participant the researcher wants to become a legitimate member of

the group, completely hiding his or her real purpose for membership

within the group. 'Ihe major benefit of this method is the attainment of

some knowledge that'may have been 0th rwise unobtainable. Beyond the \ 4. ethical arguments against this method o? research, there are also some

limitations, One of these is the difficwlty in rec~rdihgevents and

. Q comnts as they happened without giving away one's iden,tity. This is

a greater problem when dealing with criminal groups because.'as Polsky I (1969) dtated -'previollsly, recording information during the 'meeting with

a criminal is not tecommended. It is also dLfficult to probe for further

information without giving away your identity. . . / me second method is one which counters some of the preceding - llmitationa and is where the participant is an observer known to the

D group. A limitation of this method is {inding reliable confidant? wha understand the workings of the group. Tnis can, houeve'r, limit vour.. study r.a%dbecause of the dependency of individual interpretaqions of group

. . , ' As an pbserver, I was known to the group. -It appeared that my

presencehad little, if any, effect on the manner in which business

transac$ions were carribd out. Once my purpose was known, the meetings

'carried on without incident 2nd I was often involved in some of $he small

' /- talk which occurred blfore and after the wagers were placed. 45. .+ . . , -

I -

Teat Method. atid, Procedures '< . Ckk of the mafor obstacles the anther-anticipated wan. that the respondent. wuld not divulge enough inf&ation to provide a homplete 4 ; .{ profile of the bookmaker. This ,prev;d ndt to b; a problan & the ba.dk- . ... . 4 make- on the vhole were more than willing to answer questions. Prior to . \ I . ehr actual.sassih some general introduc

' clarification of a pee. was required. This ithod: contradicts Babbie

(1979). who feels that questions should always' be vprded the same and ' . . , , .- responses rkcorded exactly in survey research. since this research was

a joint field study artd survey 'rebearch, ~olslc~'s.(1969) method-bf doing , , -

more list&&$ than talkiq'was used. ,

. 'h previously stated, no recording' idstruments of any kind were . ' . taken to the meetings 'byt the author; therefore; it became imperative that

the autiior sit doh hmediateljr after the seaiion ?nd record-what had

? . been stated'in the meeting. This is one of the reasons why a second and

~7~s-1third meeting wai repyired ,to clarify so? poi&. During ' :the mcetinp the author'also at-tempte? to :get corfoboraiioq stitemen'.rs . . from other bookmakers by leaiiing the discussions in. that wiy. ' < , ...... I)

Ani1ysis.-of Data . '- /. , . Because this was primarily a descriptive atudy, no statistical .' . t . . . . -. .', . , ptyh &lbe performed om the data. Whak attempted ra& to .. ' - - ' '-cover sIlarities and dissimilarities mgst the bookmakers so as \ * to present a consumsee profile of the boolunaker and his role. .Th;

.\participant observation is presented as noted by the author to give

grcatgr lmkledge and to althenticate &dings from previous studies.

~hcfoiiowpg are the categories for analyeis: 1: 1 (1) Socialization of the ~ook&ker

(2) pe Bookmaker's daily routine

(3) ,The Bookmaker's clientele

(4) The Bookmaker's colleegues

The Bookmaker and the Law (5) (b Prob'l- .of the Bbo+ker -

(a) clients who don't pay

- (c) setting and adjusting the line

Data pertaining to each of these ,categories from each bookmakir will

be ~oinbinedand kmilarities 'and differences will be presented, as well , ' e circumstances. The\Ze is a certain repetition of data due

some data is rekeyant in more than one catggory.

re certain methodological procedures that alsoirequire

Ln this section. The following were employed.

Lly Log:

idly log 01 events and interviews was maintained for each

r the researcher was involved with t'~bookmaker (Appendix A).

formal Interview.; + 4

m~~sionswith bookmakers were recorded whenever possible. 0 J The ~cordingsof this datg always took place after the

, actual~intervi&, as was recommended earlier. The same

method was followed in.discusaions with the police.

, , (3) Systematic Observations:

Repeated observations were made of any recurring events the

bookmaker took part in. It was not uncommon to spend three

or four hours twice a week at some locat* where bookmakers-

I, congregated.

a ' Limitations of the Study

(1) qebookmakers in Edmonton and '~algarymay not be a represenktive

sample of bookmakers in Canada or North America.

(2) Some questions in the quest$onnaike are open ended questions. The

intrepretation of the responses was done by the author to allow for

Y categorization of dominant responses.

(3) Due to the legal factors involved with the individuils being studied.

the autkor'chose not to ass- the role of the bookmaker.

(4) 'Ihe author was not allowed td spend more thanan hour to two at a

time with one single bookmaker for fear by the bookmaker of

possible interjection by the police.

(5) The author only interviewed sport bookmakers and not race track

bookmakers, as race track bookmakers refused to cooperate in the t . , study.

t Delimitations of the Stud%

The study was delimited to an analysis of the bookmakers in Edmonton

and Calgary. Alberta. ~ot6of these cities would be considered major

,- . ,' b.

The bookmakers in this study came from what might be classified as

a deprived or underprivileged background. This concurs with what Polsky t b (1969) discovered, namely that the majority of social deviants originate

from lower class upbringings. The majority were products of lower class

* a families and areaa, often living in lover class housing as a result of .

the meagre salaries their parents made as blue collar workers. Some,.

boobakers qlao came from homes where their only source of financial

assistance @as welfare. Eight out of ten respondents came from families

with six or more children., This large family background,coupled with a I -k low socio-economic status, proved to be a great burden on the parents..

As a result of these circumstances, the bookmakers generally felt that

. their parente couldnot be preoccupied with the whereabouts of each child.

Often a uarent would have to work at two jobs and the children were

required yo fend for themselves. With little parental supervision the m children became involved in many unsavoj activities, one of which was 1 b oolemaking . ,Another very noticeable characteristic of the bookmaker was their 2 '1 ethnic background. None of the bookmakers in the study were native born Canadians. This is not surprising, however,. as the lower income groups are usually made up of other countries. - A8 Lester (1979) atatea with regards to illegal gambling. Blacks, Hispanics and Italians

all have high bcidences o,f involvement in illegal gambling. If the I the nickname of the . . actual nationality was not dkrectly discernible, 1. , ' . i 49. J , :. I . i . . bookmaker often providetl a clue. Names such as "Portuguese Joe" and

"Polish Bob" are just two that provide the national background of the bpokmaker.

As a result of the disad/van

This desire to make wney led them into the bookmaking business. On first appearance,it seems like an easy job. You'protect yourself with eq-1 beis add age thsrefore sure to come out ahead as the result of the "vigorish" . . - "Lovable" is one bookie who began maang'book at the age cf 16:

The money appeared &ay enough so I set up an off

Another bookmaker started at the race track: -. / At the time it cost 50~to get in and it was a $1.00 miflmum bet. People who could not afford the entrance fee wuld stand outside the wire gate watching. I just ' began by taking 50c bets from those outside the fence - at set odds. It provided me with a job and the people who could not afford to go inside to bet, the chance to wager.- .O& of the majorrdrawb&ka' of being a bookmaker, hoiever, is the lack of a family-life. Very few women can put up with the possibility of their husbands los'ing,all their family funds, as well as the irregular hours they must keep. Those who-do eventually get married, @ find that the occupational ikecurity and the l&g hours, usually remlt irr divorce. Divorce is often much easier for a bookmaker to cope with than to give up bookmaking. He is not trained to do anything ehe .and thus finds lik somewhat difficult. Another difficulty is that mat.bookmakers have very.far fond memories of their parents' married 1 life. Their parents were usu~out working moat of the time just to f . put food OIL the table. Probably the major reasori for the lack of a family, life among

r. boolcmakers is very simple. Their business hds been number one in their / life for so long that nothing- c'an'replace it and very few women can accept bing sectmd best. For as long as most bookmakers can remembkr. -. -. . their life has revolved around sports,-gambling and making bob It is too late to change. #. This is not to say that bookntakers have no relationships yith the - oppoirite sex. They claim to 'be heterosexual, butdheir relationships i . . tend to be casual in nature, usually with females they may happen to '. meet in a lounge where they are doing business. But for the afore- . . mentioned reasons these relationships are very seldom long term.

Colleagueship anong bookmakdrs is.typica1 of colleagueship in many -

and expdlsion from the &cupation.

one ;an be denied entry,by both

' . - formal means (d&y him a license, training, tools or membership) or "*' ' &formal means (betracization o; by refusing to work with him). . . Bookmaking, however, does not require any elements that can be controlled effectively by colleagues. There is np formal entrance requirements. . \ such & an examination, as in becoming a lawyer. No form of document-

ation'is needed to become a bookmak8.r. Anyone who wishes to wkethe

risk that gees with the territority can become a bookmaker. All b training is on tlie job tdning and the toola of the trade (money,

b

.\ ; .3 -9-4 . . - pports, clients) are available to anjlone. One does not need an expensive office; business can be conducted anywhere and as for a market. the '. research shws there is more than enough people in the city who like to ,

' b' Ihe eepirit de corps within the bookmaking group is often lacking \ due to the*naturc of the group. Thekis not a great deal of contact

end reliance on one another. The need for contact wi~hone another is mnaewhab +deed by the way bnaia&ss'Is carried out. .In contradiction ' .

to' Polsky (1969)' I found boohitaker? very cordial to outsiders. ~d enjoy colleagueship meam to be &epted. - by others in the business: It does not, howe*, mead that to be denied colleagueship means to be ., denied woe. If a bookmaker is denied acceptance by other tiookmak&&, it

can rule but laying..off and other forms of co-operation, .but it has no

major effect on his main job, that of taking bets from people. He does.

however, have to watch the distribltion of bets he takes more cksely

than a bookmaker who has friends who are bookmakgts, b\ecause he will

L have gteater difficrilty *.in laying off wagers. ' As ~~'m&~~~~~ti~,there is an established hierarchy. At the .

bottom of the hierarchy are those who call themselves bookmakers, but -

' who do not engage in it as a full time occupation. Thebe people are

never referred to as bookmakers by many of their so called colleagues,

Bow can that BLEEP call himself a bookmaker when he - ' ohly does it part-time.

This is one of the few situations where outright rejection by boo$makers

may occur. The only other reason stated for rejection was personality .

' conflicts. If a Bookmaker by his actions causes grief to his associates,

he is usually rejected'by other bookmakp. T' . To apve up the hierarchy, honesty and time are the most important .. factom. lhese two factors also resulc In monetary rewards which allows . . for a bookmaker to become better known. Aa a bookmaker spends'more afld

more time ih the business, he develops a steady clientele and this

eventually leads to more ciients with the result that more cash flows in. k his reputation v,other lesaown boo-era turn to him to - layoff. Before the breakup of the wires in the fifties, a tiookmaker often.had. layoff bets from all dver th!, country if he had'a goid reputa-

tip. As one bookmaker put it:

fn' the 30's and 40'; there was a layoff system all across the country in every major city. You could alvays find someone to layoff with no matter what. . the size of the bet was. ,

This is no the case anymore since the police crackdown on the

telephones, which will be'refqrred tq later. Now a bookmaker usually

has only one or two other bookmakers he cdn layoffwith if necessary.

Most bookmakersPspe~faliresomewhat in the sports they'covek and

'> thur the colleagues they know best are usually always involved in the

same sport. This was net 'always the caae. As Messick (1976) discoverLd

e attempts In 1942 to-stop the fixing of races resulted in an increased

interest"L. in wagering on a variety of aports, usually resulting in 0 bookmakers having to choose the sports they wished to take wagers on. ' 8. ..The most common split among the bookmakers is with those who take beta .., .on horse racing, and This does noc ., . those. . who deal yith other sports. Dean to say *at a cliPnt can only bet on his Bookmaker's specialty.

As mentioned in the literature, a bo~kmakerwill take a bet on almosc 4 anything reasonable, and if he won't, he can.usu+ly find an associate

whom tb lay the bet off with, . - so as not to discourage the client. Even though they- tend to know colleagues who are involved with the same , ~.~tts,they &ow of and where to contact boohkers vlph other

specialties. pis fact was discoveted when the.authorwas introduced

to other bbokmakers b ne who took wagers on totally different events

t>an they did. P

As metithed earlier, 'one of the key reasons a bookmaker needs a' . ? . . solid relationship with other bookmakers is for laying off. One must

not, however, bk led into believing this is a common practice awmg

bookmakers. Apy booLker *o t'akes bets split 50/50 is going to make

'little money. His take will only amount to the total vigorish he claims.

As a result of this, most bookmakers using their expertise try to obtain

bets heavier orf one side than the other. This expertise, gainid from

ejrpetience and knowing people within t+e various sports, allows the

bookmaker to make calculated risk6 in order to earn more money. He

must, of course, have funds at his disposal In the event of heavy losses

which can occur. Someone,new in the buliinees would not have the know-

.* .* ledge, c&tacts, or most likely financial security to take such risks.

This situktion will only develop over time but it is crucial if the

b6oknalrer.i~ to eventually make large sums' of money.

' The process of laying off vould occur if d injury to an important

player-changed .the odds drastically against the bookmaker. In this . instqpce he would try to layoff with a bookmaker in the'opposite

position. A bookmaker mqy also layoff so as not to discourage a client

to wager,'bui the action itself is not a common one. &. -'.

, \ '~1idate1.e, Who are these men that place bets with a bookmaker? The word 'men'

in wed for a reason. Research by scholars such as Kallick (1976) and - ' 0, They much prefer to wager smaller amounts than those hich would be

required to waget vitli a bookmaker. This is fine with bookmakers as 1 - most of them refuse to take wagers from females anyway. This +a because

in,nfny instances .women have dif f icultits in payhg off their debts @ecause of fear their husbands may find. out. It seems to be easier for. .. and a mrm to place a fifty dollar bet explain its whereabouts to his wife

than vice versa,,.-This phenomena may change with more and more women in the work force. . - If,you areWwalkingdowntown and pass's well&essed executive, he

may be one of the many people who deals with a hookmsker. -Because the

minimum bet one can wager with a bookmaker i? Edmonton is fifty'dollars.

. a bp0hmker need6 and expects relatively sfeady business. One must be

quite well off to be able to indulge in this activity on a .regular basis.

Aa a result, the clients of'booksnakers are usually executives or

professionals. As the Fund for the City of ~ew'york(1972) discovered,

852 of all ilIegal bets come from those in the upper class of society. a Their arbitrary cut off point Gas earning $20,000 which-would appear

somewhat small tq today's standarzs. Howeve'r, when the study was

conducted in 1972 it was a substantial sum of money..

- The -relationehip between bookie and client mre often than not

becomes very friendly. Each party is doing the other a service that

thg either need for exLstence (the bookmaker) or want for enjoyment

:and excitement. There are a variety of theories on vhy people gamble,

but.the reason most bookies felt their clients gabbled was for enjoyment., i Aa Herman (1976) suggests, gambling for the wealthy is a reinforcement

of their socio-economic status. They gamble for fun; it is a diversion the? can afford. Since this was not a study of the boohakers' clients.

their is no attempt to validate the,why'people gdle iheoriea. kermanls

(1976) work is cited here because the bookmakers themselves mentioned

this motivation to gamble most frequently.

An the relationship prospers and trust develops, a client is some-.

tines given the use of credit. Early in the relationship if the client ,,

does not haye the.cash, he cannot bet. But as the client becomes better

known to the, bookmaker, he may be allowed to run up a tab, similar to

they way' you might in a bar or restaurant.

The cmit limit depends on the amount the bettor usually wagers.

If the bettor is basically a fifty to one hundred dollar a week wagerer,

his credit will not be anywhere near that of someone who continually

wagers five hmdred to a thousand dollars a week. The credit line may

be.one hundred dollars for one person and thousands for affother.

A person who wants to beein betting with a bookmaker carpot just

walk up to one, if he happens to find one, and place a bet. Each person

must;rec+ve an in, usuzflly in fhe form of an introduction by a friend

'' who is a .close friend of the bookmaker'or already one of his clients.

The wet obvious reason for this practice is the fear of undercover

poliZe trying t6 make a bust. The other reason is that bookmakerb

want to have as few problema with their clients as possible. They do

not want to have to-worry about being paid. Once introduced to a

bookmaker, a client does not immediately start making bets. The bookmaker .. *hecka out the client in many ways, similar to a business checking out

your credit rating at the bank. 6e bookmaker will discuss the client

with his friend, iind out what type of job he has, for how long and

anythingelse which may show this potential client to be a bad risk. . . ' When this pmcess in complete, the client will be contacted and allowed

to place wagers tTith the bookmaker. These wagers are also aontrolled Gy

the boobaker a; first, usually at the minimum level for insurance

reasons; As one of these boolcmakera put it:

I. If I allow a client to wager five thousand dollars and I am suppotred to pick it up the next day, if I am covering my bets wlth that mmey and he skiqs out on me that money has to come out of my pocket if he was to lose; for me to pay my other clients. \. The foregoing is also another reason why credit extended from client to

client varies according to their aveqage wager:

1 It is obvioua that mat clients enjoy sports, but clients do have

their favorite sports. Of the twenty to thirty clients a bookmaker may

have, the mcljorpy of them bet most of their money on NFL football first

and hockey second. The reason NPL football is so popular is because of

the coverage it receives in the media and the number of games they play. I. The parity wdthin the league also makes it a challenge to pick the

winners. There is one major exceptipn to this trend and that is with

olinese bettors, whom tend to favor CFL football, a phenomenon the

bookmakers could not explain.

As the preceding comments 'demonstrate, the primary criteria for

becoming a client of a bookmaker is honey and reliability. This makes

-it very difficult to stereotype the bookmaker's client$, which also C makes it difficult for police to identify a client,and thus trace him

back to the bookmaker. L

His Nicknames.

One of the noteworthy aspects of the boolcudcers argot is the use of

nicknames. Over half of the_bookmakers inte~i~edhad nicknames which they wed ,on a regular.basis. Some of 'the bookmakers acquired their

nicknybefore they began their bookmaking careers. This was

espeo&LUy true if the nicwto a physical characteristic of

the boolonaker. There are, hcwever, a good majority whom acquire their \ names after they become boolonakers.

The following are some of the nicluiames of bookmakers who are

-'currently working in the Ebnton and Calgaq areas: Lovable, Portuguese . .r Joe, Yugoslav Bob, Short Eddy. Prince. R.B. and Lefty. . . ,< .- I - ' . ..- (XI first inspection; one would assume thig tart of the business .argot wa,a used for the purpose of disguise. This was proven totally /

fahe. , Everyone whom the bookmaker talks to usually refers to him by his

/ * .puf&ame. 7hey are proud of/"" eir nicknames and on introduction often ' use it. My first en(cbunter with a bookmaker went something like this: $ -self: "Hello, I'm Brent ~atterson." ' Bookmaker: "They call me ~ovable." '

Very few bookmakers use their real names because they prefer to be , referred to by *eir nicknhes.

Althhgh the chief use of nicknames by bookmak'era appears to be for

espirit de corps, there are other reaaons. They appear to be the same

so the reasons expressed by Polsky (1969hn his book Hustlers, Beats and

Others. , 9 (1) Bookmakers are more often than not from the loser class, which makes use of nicknames more frequently than any other c;ass. r (2) The boobakers overlap other criminal circles, which also

. have high monicker rates. .. 5.

(3) The use of nicGames is part of a ling stwing tradition in

t. . this milieu. '. 1. ' . : (4) The ~ichmes-mayreflect a.certain male pakteni of bondfng. .. * , . The world of the bookmaker is exclusively male. . -.

?

The ~ckkmalcerand the Zaw

ons side rind that the business the bpokmaker is involved in is , - 4llad.in Canada, the attitude of thi? lay enf~rcement.~;rsonnelis soramhat surprising.' As 'Fwler (1978) discopered in his. research, -the police do not feel the pubXie view booltmaking .as a serious ch. The , , author also found the same attitbde prevalept among the police forces in Edmonton and Calgary. This is not to say that they condone bookmakers and their'buaineds, but that they view other crime's much -re seriously '. and thus direct a greater amount of time and attention to those crimes,

.During the data collection phae of the study, a recurriag question arose as. to why the police take this attitude?, 'hh' author f&nd it' exceedingly eaay to make contact with bookmakers and obseke businebs .

tr-actions. with the equipment and contactsf the police have a;f th'eir ,

'disposal, it would appea; at first glance to be very easy 50 limit c, bookmakers ' b'binebs. . when one looks deeper into the situation. , , . it becomes apparent why, this action is not taken by the police. . For example, a bystander's susbicions are not aroused $f two-people seated at another booth exchange money. And as the police put it, even ' I if we &-that the persoa'receiving the money is a bookmaker, unless he ib apprehended with evidence on him such as a nate sheet of the bets, a . .. . . colod&iod is impossible. This is made'duublp difficult by the fact-that a good bdokmaker does not write his bets dqwn but codts them to memory. ' There is an; surveillance method thr; the police do we consistently, - but its effect? are limited: This is tapping phonee. Nowadays. a book- . 60.

r *T doa ncit we the cheesebox system, mentioned previously; ur a, ratter of fact he does not use telephones at-all if possiue, or note I . . ' . pads, becam$ he kn- this 4.9 really the only way lie could be apprehendid. 7 1 In a feri instances this method can lead to an arrest. The following is \, 1

>. - _,tl;.. example of how a bookmaker was caught while using the phone: The bookmaker A qnteh to talk to a cliedt about a bet becaye he had not seen him that day and was quite sure his client wanted to place a wager. To av'oid the risk 1 of his phone being tapped, he walked down to the corner 's '. . to use the pay phone. The police meanwhile had tappeb /I his client's phone. Being unaware of this, he carried . out the transaction over the phone and was subsequently < arree.ted by the police. Bis sentence - a year in jail or $10.000. The $10,000 was a stiff penalty, but it vas less burdensome than a jail sentence. I . 'Ihis is one 6f the few ,instancewuncovered in this study where a . booker vaa caught outright. The penalty, although stiff, was cheaper

in the long run than B prison term. If apprehended again, hwever, the sentence would'be much harsher. I lnLyways the approach the police take to bopkmaking is similar I . in appearmce to the one they take with other vices like prostitution. e . % I ff there is public reaction to either crimeran effort is made to squelch I \ '. - a ...a ;he noise by making some arrests. To rA6e bookmaking totally would be ' '0 , impoesible, but if a bookmaker Is making too much noise the police will -. dd their best to find some grounds for arrest. . , ' The police knov +o the bookmakers are,but can do little to control

them because of the difficulty in gaining enough evidence for a conviction. ' ! .. ' i i Probleam in Being, a %okmaker Bopkrmkgrs like all businesmen have difficulties they have to deal . -. with within the bueiness. The moat obvious and major difficulty the

P bookmaker must face is the. law. Since the occupation is illegaf, & - arremt hnd a conviction can be very costly in terms of wney and. image. '

' Ihio may not only* arise as a monetary loss or jail term, an discussed

pnvioluly, but it may also affect future endeavors. It is difficult

for any persbn witla a criminal record to obtain a solid vork opportunity. \ Thim risk arisra with many ether criminal elements, but for all intents .

and purposes whn a bookmaker chooses this profession, he chooses it for

llfe or until financial security is reach, which is not uncommDn among '

bookmakers. ., A boolcmaker also faces many snags in nmntng his .daily business vpetations. Problems with overdue payments, layoffs and setting the line \ arise constantly. The problem of overdue accounts is one that the n boolonaker tries to avoid wherever possible by thoroughly checking out a

. person well in advance before taking him on as a client. Deapite this

precaution, the problem still exists. The scenario aften presented in

the compnmication media is that this pers$;i will be found at the bottom

of the'river with cement shoes on. This has happened, as a couple of

bookmakers verified, but it is much more the exception than the rule.

"I heard one guy was put mayeor $1.000 debt ." Another qualification of this and the following technique of

media is \that of "rubbing out" or "rearranging one's face". This again- i; nuch more, the exception than the rule. To avoid this problem, a

bookmaker working on his own must chkck out his clients very well

.because he has no financial backing if he does not collect from a

' client. 'he Mafia can eliminate a client and still know the money for payoff8 will be available. It also serves as a reminder to anyone else

thinking of velching on their gambling debts. In Alberta', if the

bookmaker chooses to e1imhate.a-. client he has no possible way of

collecting the mney and, therefore, must pay from his on! pocket. ,He "' would also risk the possibility of a murder or assault charge-. being laid. The Mafia lessen this risk because they hire or contract professionals

fot this purpose., The bookmaker must accept this as.one of the hazards . . . t- . of the busiaess. he thing for sure, ff the client does. not have an

. exceptional reason for not paying, his chances of findihg another book-

- maker would'be ,slim, as word would get around quickly on him being a. poor 1 risk.

Laying off bets is another business matter a bookmaker must contend

with. In this- case, the longer and thus usually the older the bookmaRer

is, the eaaier it is' for him to lay off bets. When the wire services

were in operation, i$was very easy for a bookmaker to get on the phone

and lay off anywhek in the co&try. Nowadays a bookmaker must rely on ' * his friends to take bets from him in the case of heavy betting o? one

A new.bookmaker in the businesd finds this difficult to do and tym. . 2 t. therefore, 9 watch his bkta much more carefully, a practice that can

cost him a great deal of mane?. What a bookmaker in Edmonton will do m *if he gets too much money wagered on one team, which is usually the

case if the hwteam is playing, is to contact a bookmaker in the'

A-ent'e city. Due to the support given by a city to their home team,

can usually lay off in that city and in some instances take layoff

s himsglf. If the hore team is not playing, he can usually lay off / h colleagues in the same city.

Setting and adjusting the line is the bookmakers life line. A miatalee here can'coat ;great deal of money. All boo-kers interviewed

knew of at least odnuder they could call to get' the line 0n.a sports

-event, and many knew three numbers. With the heaviest. action codng on

NPL football, the setting of the line is helped by, the fact the news-

papers nw print the point spreads for the upcomtng.gsmes, as well as listing the injuries. Up'until this year, Las Vegas did not have a line -

0x1 the CFL (Canadian Football League) so this became the bookmaker's job. -This is &re the bookmaker's friends withir e spo'rting fraternity could help him. wowing about even one.playerfs injury and whether or

not he will play can help 'the boo,@aker treqndously in setting the line.

To his'clietrt it may even appear too good to be true, One mst also be

aware that the bookmaker does not have to use the Las Vegas line,

although ,in most cases it would be foolish not-to. The use of the Las

Vegas line as berchant 71973) states depends on the bookies belief about ,

money equalizing point spreads. This is because the bookmakers in Las

Vegas are paid well to research the games defoce asatkg the line and

f)heir job relies on their accuracy. Aa the preceding demonstrates, the boolmakerls,bUsiness is not just . cut and dried, he needs a variety of skills to ensure the ~600thrunning I' of his budness. First, a bookmaker needs to be a gf od accountant. The ., nmrous figures involved in his bhnese, wagers &id lines, require he

have some mathematical ability. If' he has a good memory,, it is also

beneficial. By keeping all the various figures'in his head, he eliminates . 4 evidence that could be used against himself if apprehended by the law. i The bookmaker must also be very personable. If he is not, then there is . - nothing stopping a client from doing business with .another bweker. -r To go along with these attributes he must be tms'tworthy. If a bookmaker is dishonest, his chkces for survival are-slim.. All he has to go gn is

his reputation and if it is shady, word,will get around quickly. He

must also face the reality.,that the'chances .of him having a wife and

family are slim. The nature of the brlsiness dictates that there will ! \ be highs and lows, which' very few people outside the subculture can *. accept. Aa with apy job, it helps it he enjoys it. 'he risks of

apprehens;on by the police or a major-loss necessitate adoqting this

attitude. There are easier and surer ways to

The bottom line for the bookmaker is how much money he makes. As

previously mentioned, the vigorish is not enough to sustain him. .He

must .take some risks in order to make a good 'living. And if it pays

off, it can be a very lucrative living. This is why 'many bookmakers are not interested in legalized bookmaking. The cost ty them if they are . ..a,good bookmaker is far too great. Ideas put forth by Sturgeon (1974) (refer to Chapth 2, page 55) regarding legalized bookmaking were turned

dova when posed to the.bookmakers I spoke with.

' i . To place a single figure for a yearly wage on a bookmaker is very

difficult. Each bookmaker is afferent in the wa; he handles'fiis' i. . . climtd and business. If a bookmaker is a good businessman, it would . . not be unrealistic for him to &ke upwards to $50.000 per year. . But as ,-in any business, many bookmakers do not make this amount. In addition,

there is the added hazard that a boo+ker can go broke if be is not

cargful. ---- .- 2

65. I . ! Thb salary is derived primarily frombetting action on tuo sports; _. . . . one behg NFL football, the other NdL hockey. On a given weekend in the \

various teams. For hockey the .sum wouid be about half that or $5,000

per week. ~hedctotals would substantially increase at playoff t& I a8 bettors lobk to make more mney before the season ends or to get back d3-i .tew. . Like any other business, a bookmaker is required to file income tax. e ; ) Because bf tl& lastating that your' income tax retum is confidential, i 6 if a bookmaker files, he files on his earnings as a6bokm1cer. He files * his income cax on a legitimate tax' return form. It is against the iaw

for ;he police to obtain these records ah use them for prosecution. If

a bookmaker do- not file an income tax retu'm, he faces the same rbk as 't any person who does not file. In these instances, he becomes just like

8py citizen working on any'job who does not file and can face prosecution. -% - . , Bookmakers do file wd :he information, beca"se of our legk system, - . ,. cannot be used against him for prosecution. -

If legalized bookmaking by the government became a reality mast

obaewere feel the bookmakers would suffer, yet the bookmakers in this

study tpdicated their losses would be minimal. Their biggest asset is

that they will extend credit, whereas a govemment agency vohd not.

This means that a client on good terms vith his bookmaker can vager

ythout the money up front and usualJy interest free for a period of

time. The government would not likel? extend credit, but if they did, '

they would have to charge interest on it. Another benetit of dealing

.with a bookmaker is that the client is not taxed ?n his winnings.

Taxation is one of the benefits besides e1iminat;on of the bookmaker that I , 1' 4 the government would hope to obtain from legalization. If a person can

7 . \ i'- ). ------. 66, . P

a. wager rmd receive his winnings tax free, then there is little chance

that he will wager with a government run bookmaking parlor'when he will

- be taxed on his winnings. The legalization of bookmaking may create

limited revenue from sqlltime gaublers, but the chances of' eliminating

' the bookie are minute-. The overhead costs to attract the'neighborhood

gambler mike the feasibility df legalized- gambling unlikely. The book- -

maker will not be affected ad, as they have found out in New York with

regards to race'track betting, the anticipated monetary windfall do'es

not ~Cerialize.

*. - * 'Relations with Others i Around the Business I - For a bookmaker to function properly, he.must maintain a poeitive I relationship with both his clients and other bookmakers. To maintain

his clients, he must be honest and dependable.' A client must be sure -@. tha* he can plice a bet rh&n & wishes and tnat he w!ll be paid upon rinning-. . pe same is true for the boolkker; he relies on the client

'to place bets regularly and his debts when due. A neutral or negative relationship would 7detrimental to both parties. A neutral ' relationship would not destrw both parties, but.would be harmful to

both in the manner in which transactions may take place. Credit and

payment may have'to take place at every meeting and this in itself mav

kill the relationship. If a negative relationship arose, then both

parties would be required t.0 go thei; separate ways. It may result Fn "

the c1ient.riot being able to find another bookmaker, or the bookmaket' \ probably losing more client.. . , A boolcmaker ~equiresa positive relationship with other bookies P as well. Although the interaction if often minimal; when the need does ' 1 . 67.

I arise for layoffs or a favor it pays to be on good tern vith your colleagues, A bookmaker could survive a neutral relationship, but it

- 1 He vould nee& to be much more careful in the .- vould hamper him somewhat. I am~untof vagers he accepts on one team, because a layoff system muld

not be available. A negative relationship with hls colleagues vould

possibly result in the end of his career. If $he situation became bad

enough, the police may be tipped off by hi! colleagues in order to remve

him from their fraternity.

On the other hand, the bookmaker maintgins neutral relationships - viph orp other groups. These are the media and the police. The bookmaker

must be careful not to create either. a positive or negative relationship

vith the &&a. A positive relationship.would hu:t the bookmaker. It is

of great value for a bookmaker to knov of a key injury or 'iineup change

the public is notware of hen setting th~line, while at the same time

it is important that the media not become identifiedwith the ho&aking

industry. By publishing the line they are giving the public vhat it

wants aid this is how they stay in business. A bookmaker can still

obtain the odds regardless of whether they are published or not. The .. \ papers are not doing it for the bookmakers but for the general populace. The reratiomhip the bookmaker has with the police is somewhat '. different than one would expect. Aa long as neither one is affected

by the bookmaking industry, everything runs smoothly. If, however, the

. relationship becomea positive the image of tbe police force is hurt and they must counteract this by arrests or fines. If, on the otherhand,

the.~elationshipbecomes negative, the bookmaker must be aware of the

police attempting to obtain significant informatJon for a ,conviction.

If both parties stay out of each other's'way, they get along fine, but . .- I 68.

%.. %.. .

# if the pcnd~lumswings one way or the oiher, the relatimship changes

dragatically. ' For.the bookmaker to succeed He has to walk the fine line of all

these relationships. One false step eiI9rer waj may result in his .

bminess behg hurt or possibly shut dmtotally. As has been'stated,

the job of being a bookmaker is not easy. He requires a great many

skills that others have.gone to school to acquire. He must receive on

, . the job training. 5

. . . . -, -1 , . . .. v .a. .. SUMURY AND CONCLUSIONS 1 .. -

. , .- . . %!!Esz . , lbe primhry purpose of the study was to provide an in-depth

occupational profile of the bookmaker. . and, second, to examine his role I.--. . in so~ik$~.~h&e was a definite#connection between gambling and sport. .4 4.: in whih the boakmaker plays a central role., To understand the book-

/ ' mnicer's role would better enable us to Aderstand the relationship

between gabbling and sport. The sample was limited to discussions with

ten bookmakers ?from either Calgary or Edmonton. This'was out of a total

of approximately forty bdqkmakers within the province. Because all % responses were similar, confidence in the findings can.& assumed. All

bookmakers interviewed were involved in sports betting and not horse

racing. me bookmakers, who were involved with horse racing, were

reluctant.to talk with anyone but close friends on any subject related

to their business.

A list of questions was.developed by the author for the bookmakers t to answer (Appendix A). These questions were presented verbally during . -'. the intezviews the author had- with, each bopkmaker. This is in accora , with Polk09 (1969), who recombended that no recording devices or lists 4- \ be dsad vheh talking to criminal element;. As a follow up bo this ,

approach, th'e. . author.also became an unobtrusive obaerver to some of the 4 - transactions undertaken by the bookmakers.

Responses were grouped into seven majot categories of the bookmaker's

life, namely:

(1) socialization of the Bookmaker -

i I . 1 - -,-- - .--- ... . - , -- - . -. ----- . * . . (2) The Bookmaker1\ daily routine

(3) The Bookmaker's clientele

(4) The Bobmaker's colleagues

(5) The Bookmaker and the Law (6j Problems of the ~oo~anaker- . - (a) clients who don't pay

'(b) lay-offs , _A' (cJ setting and adjusting the line II - (7) The Bookmaker's family life - The findings vere then discussed according to the sociological literature

on this topic.

I ~onhusions

Based on the evidence drawn from this study, the following

conclusions may be drawn. \L I . Th'e bookmaker. comes korn a lw income background. Socio-economic ./ status is often rqlated to ethnicity and this was the case with book-

, makers. Few bookmakers are native born Canadians, with most coming from Hispanic or Iealian backgrounds.'. As a result of their bacEground, mst bookmakers have llttle formal education. A bookmaker with a grade

twelve education would be considered highly educated compared to most

bookmakers. s lack .of schooling is usually due /to their quitting *v- school at an early age to make money to help stpport their families.

To,be conaidered a bookmaker by your colleagues one-make book L on a full'time basis. A part time

time bookmakers. A favorabl'e impression by other bookma)rers is

essential for the purpose of laying off bets or occasionally setting

the line.

-. -f I . In Alberta, the most, cormoa type of bookmaker is the travelling bar ' bookie. %is is the term applied by Pace and Style* (1975) to a ;book- maker who -uaes bars to conduct his businas. This works out well for the boabaker's clienrs, who tend to be from the upper income brackets.

A client can frequent a lounge or resthuranc durhg his lunch hour and .' btrusively place. a wager with his bookmaker without being incon-

enced. x -3Contrary to the movie stereotype of the loud fldhy bookie, the bookmakers in this study were conservative, well dressed gentlemen.

Very few of the boolanakers had a stable family life. The job Insecurity,

the irregular hours and the threat of poli.ce harassment are hazards lhich

tend to scare met women away from a,long term meaningful relatigship.

The police do very little to .curtail-the bookmaking industry. Other

than tapping phones, there is very little else the police force can do. d

They know who the bookmakers are and very often who their clients are.

but they are poverlese to do anything about 'it ,in most circumstances.

L Implications

, On tKe basis of the literature reviewed and the results of this study, there appears to be m Tinconsistencies. The method of obtaining data may need teeassessed. It is very difficult in two or three

2 .suaion# with a bookmaker to get a true feeling for the business. A

mare longitudinal study with participation.by the author may help one.

uaderstand all adpecte of the business.

4 Legalized gambling ha been instituted in various areas with varying

results. In Nevada it has proven prosperous, but to think that it has

removed 'Illegal gambliag or book+ing would be absutd. In New York

*% 72. .. - .I Off Track Betting (OTB) was iupposed to be a c&h windfall for the fu state. Instead, the problems it caused make it difficult to justify

the relatively small sums of revenue it creafes. Before a province ' i&xtitutes:?egalized gambling, it must be cognizant of the benefits and

pitfalls of dping so: If one of the purported benefits is to.cut down

on the bookmak.ing industry, then the people responsible need to do more - m. . . I homework. As it now stands, the bookmaking industy would stand to

profit little from legalized betting and' their'clhnts even less. As a . . Client of a bookmaker you are required to pa$ no tax on your winnings,

b& if you were to wager and win at a betting shop *the government would

L have a record of it and thus may require ybu to pay taxe's on it. The other major criticism of legalized bookmaking pertains to the - '.ineffectiveness of present methods,af policing the boobking industry. Police admit that there is little if anything that ;hey can do to

.I eurtagl the boolcmalring indwtry'with the way 13; laws are now. They are 4 ' not wen pure if stricter lava would result in any significant\ decrease

/ in illegal The root of the problem lies with the ambivalence a. toward--ling by the general public. It is not uncommon for friends

to wageron a'gam and give a certain number of points. qr even the

police force.to have-~~'NHLpoor at the station. By definition al) of

these peopye are breaking the law. The only difference with the book-

mair'ing industry is that they are usually using higher stakes and thej - , have often,been connected to underworld _figures. To assunre .that the lejplizatia, of gambling would curtail- thhndustryis basedlon the results of thip study. Furthe&ore..to rewrite

the 1- may have drastic implications on the people who bet with a.

fried or engage in a hockey pool at work. ind%rectly,'increuea every year. Putting a wager on a g~ with a . , friend for a dollar. is similar to a person wagering with- a.boolcmaEcer, C excepc the fkequtncy of fhe wagers and the emout bet variea sub- stantially. A problem may arise if someone wagers tho cannot afford it, but a gmd boohsalccr does everything within his pyer to avoid this . L! J o wager with a bookmaker @an afford to bet, other uld not take thpn as clients. Whatathe bookrrmker . \ may not be aware of is tlle effect .the wagerlng has on the family. life of

&e client. M~chlike alcohol, gambling can result in the breakup of a marriage or a perso~losingtheir Job.

The bookmaklni industry as the author eees it, provides, a service to the peopli. If the truth /lam been stated and the indust* in Alberta Z. is not $nvolved with organized crime to suppprt other. vices like drugs : C and.prortitution, then the indirferent attitude of tliFpolice wd de n public in understandable. 'Ihe police are stymied and the public is receiving a service they obviously want.. - . ! '. None of the people interviewed in the study eJer stated thatLthe bookmkera should be put out.of business. On the contrary, most thought J' the topic was of great interest and saw nothing wrong with the bukiness. , - Sports being such an ineegral d&xsion in society, is'(l logical. , b'J outiet on whlch tdcgamble. People usually bafk the home te& so it (1 ...... only standm m-rreagp that in Alberta football and hgckey would attratt th8 largest .molmts of whey wa2ered. A wager on 'a team usually _ha I some~inminsicvalue for peopla. It makes *he game more interesting. I 3. usually evoking some, Cum of euphoria. -. .If, aa stated,,, the bookmaking industrg is not a front for organized crime, then its hapi to rociety is limi.ted,. . so^ciety may lose out-on , e

\ \ I. ..'I . -. . * . , .- I- -

The major difficulty in this approach would arise from the, v . ., finmciaFdelkands necessary to be involved in betting action. Information could be gathered from both a sociologicalped L. psychological viewpoint, which could provide insight.on the- # bookmaker as well as his clients. . R This study is generalized only to Alberta. The same type of study

could be undertaken across Canada or the Gited States to see if there are major differences, - A study on the .bookmaking industry in Las- Vegas'would be very useful to o+er states or'Q rovinces contemplating legalizing sports betting. With the induetry being legal fi Nevada, there are probably a great many differences both positive and negative, .e- other than odvious -dries, that would become apparent.

The feasibility of legalized boo.kmaking is constantly being studied.

The bookmaker's expertise on gambling and his views may provide

insight on the feasibility of this undertaking.

QUESTIONNAIRE ' c , . r* : <

The following is a list of questions prepared by the author on the . bookpaking industry. Am stated in the aethods section, no Pxact pattern or vordlng of questions was follo- ,ney were for referral use after a session with a bookmaker as a reminder of &at questions needed tnwers in the folloving session.

Has did you become in-lved in the bookmaking-industry?

Hov long ha& you been a bookmaker? *.. , . How do you attain a clientele? , Who are your clientele?

(2) sex?

(3) SES?

HOW much do you wager? . . How are payoffs made?

How much credit can a person recetve yd for what lehgth of

Has does a person become one pf your clierits?

- Do you screen people?

' (1) for how long?

(2) what p=oce& do yiu ueb?

Has does a client make a wsr? - < (1) phqne? , . \ (2) person? - what do you do in the case of overdue debts?

What ie the largest bet you will accept? J *at 'is the smallest bet you will accept?

4

HOW much would you make in a year? \ - 4. What mas your eocio-e~onourtc scatus before y% u became a

Hw are the odds set?

Why are some games taken7) off the books? 8 What will you take a bet on and what will you refwe to take a bet on, if any.thing?

On what aport is the most money wagered? . - In it ever necessary to take a lead? .

Is ,there a lot of'competition from other bookmakqs? Is there any comrmmication between bookies? .

BOW many of you are iKecity? ~

Are there bath male and female bookmakers,?

Are you married?

Do you maie yqur living from:bookmaking or is it more of a second job or hobby? \

Do you use a runner?

Do you havk a layoff system?

Are the police a broblem? .o .. . (1) harassment? ..- .S. ,

E2) fines? 7

Do you'have to pay otf anyone? T (1) police?

(2) ' mafia?

Do you view what you are doing as bad or evil?- + What. if anpthing,'woqld cause you to give up biGg a bookmaker?

'lould you voQe for legalizatfon bf gambling and b00kinal;ing'l . DAILY LOE! t This wgul$l be completed immediately after,a session with a bookmaker to help myself iemeuber key points.

WHERE WE MET . ... -

WBW: TIME AM) DATE . .

NUMBER OF PEOPLE PI\ESENT .?

WAGERS WOOKPLACE: AMOUNT , . SPORT - C BO- CHILDHOOD

VIEWS ON LEGALIZATION 1. Mler, J. "Gambling. Drugs and Alcohol". 'Issues in Criminology. 2 (19661, 111 - 117. 0 2. Allen. David D. The Nature of Gambling. New York, New York; Coward-McCann Inc., 1952.

3.. Anhton:John. The Hiatory of ~amb'lingin England. (London: Duckworth. 1898 from Allen. The Nature of Gambling.) New York, New York; Coward-McCann Inc .. 1952. r ": 4. .F$nof,- Eliot. Eight Men Out. New York. New York; Pocket Books, . 1963: :', 5. Bell, Daniel. The End of Ideology. Glencoe. Illtnois; The Free . Press, 1960.

Bloch. R.A. Disorganization: Personal and Social. New York, New .York; Alfred A. Knopf, 1962.

Callois, R. Man, Play and Games. Lonaon, England; Thames and Hudson, 1962.

Canes. Michael C. The Market For Pro Football getting 1976 from Eadington. William R., Gambling and Society: Interdisciplinary Studiis in thi Subject of ~ambiin~.Spring'field, Illinois; Charles C. Thomas,. 1976. ' ,Cohen, Jack. FootbalJ Action. Great Neck, New York; Sports Eye, Inc., 1976. . ~odmionon the Review of the National ~oli&Towards ~amblh~. Sports Betting Hearings. WaaHington, D.C.; Ace - Federal Reporters,. - Inc.. 1975. Cotton. .Charles. The Compleat Gamester (London. Chase.Broon, 1709) . 'from Allen, The Nature.of Gambling. New York, New York; ,ward-McCann Inc.. 4952.

Currens, .Sherry.ysearch Brief: Legalized Gambling. .Lexington, Kentucky; Cou cil of State Government, 1977. . .

Davis.. C.B. hpethhg for ~othing. New York, New York; Lippincott Company, 195y

Davaes, D.B., Davies B.P. and St0ne.P. &ling, Work and.Leisure. (London. England; Routledge and ~egdaul.1976. from Lester. Gambling Today). Springfield, Illinois; Charles C. Thomas, 1979.

Devereux. Edward C. Gadling and the Social Stpcture: a sociological study of lotteries and horse racinft in Contemporary America. 2 vols.. unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Haqard University, 1949. Studies in 'the Subject of Gambling. Springfield. Illinois; Charles C. Thomas. 1976. ,

17., Fowler. Floyd J. Jr., Mangione. Thomas W. and ~rkter.Frederick E. Gambling Law Enforcement in Kaior American Cities. U.S. ' Department of Justice. National Institute of Law Enforcement . and Criminal Justice, September, 1978.

18: Fund for the City of New York. ~egal-ling in New York; A 'Maassion of Numbers and Sports Betting. New York, New York; The ltrentieth Century Fund, 1972.

19. off&, E. ~nteractionRitual. Garden City, Neu York; Doubleday +nd Company. Inc.. 1927.

20. Hermdn, Robert D. Gambling. New York, New York; Harper and Row, 1967.

21. Herman. Robert D. Gamblers and Gambling. Lexington, Massachueetts; D. C. Aeath and Company, -1976.

22. 'Hill. Henry. "Hcu I Put the Pix In", Sports Illustrated, February

1981, pg. 14-21. * 4

4 I 23. Huizinga. J. Homo Ludens. Boston, Massachusetka; Beacon Press, 1950. . 24. ~allick,Maureen, et. al. Survey of American Gambling Attitudes from Commission on the -Review of the National Policy Towards . Gambling. Sports Betting Hearings. Washington, D.C.; Ace Federal Reporters, Inc., 1976.

, 25. Kaplan, Lavrence J. and Loughney. Leo C. Ins and Outs of &-Track and Off-Track Betting. Jamaica, New York; Gould Publications. 1970.

26. King, Rufus., Gambling and Organized Crime. Washington, D.C. ; Public Affairs Press, 1969. .

27. Klausner. S.Z. IVhy Man Takes Chances - Studies in Stress Seeking. Garden City, New Jersey; Doubleday and Company, 1967, 28. Kornblum. Allan N. The Moral Hazzards. Lexington. Massachusetts; - Heath and Company, 1976. - 29. ~ancaet.er; J. '(Gambling in the United ~tates": American Mercury Vol XL.. 1937. . avid. Gambling Toaax. Springfield, Illinois; Charles C. mas, 1979. -

* C

. , I .I 2

I I Merchant, Larry. The National Fqatball Lottery. New York. NwYork; Dell Publishing Cpmpany, Inc.. 1974.

Messick, Rank and Goldblatt, Burt. The Only Game in Tm. N? York, New York; .Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1976. Y

Messick, Bank. Syndicate Abroad. London, England; The Kacmillan Compa"y,,1969.

Hichener. James A. S orts in America. Greenwich. Conneticut; Fmcett PuSlicai-

Newhn, Otto. Gambli~g: Haza and Reward. University of ond don*, England; The Athlone Presai 1972.

Pace. Denny F. and Styles, Jimmie C. Organized Crime: Concepts ,and Control. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey; Prentice-Hall Inc.

P~teraon.V.W. Gambling, Should It Be-Legalized? Springfield, Massachusetts; Charles C. Thomas Ltd.. 1951.

Polskg, Ned. ~ustlersBeats and Others. Garden City. N& York; Doubleday and ~ompk~,~nc., 1969.

Reid, E. and Demaris 0. The Green Felt Jungle. New York. New York; The .Trident Press, 1963.

'Rosser,. Douglas R. An Analysis of G~mbliggand the Extent of Its Pervusivmess Among Members of Our Society. Unpublished paper. . University of Alberta.

41. Rozelle, Pete aa cited in Commission on the Review of the National Policy Towards Gambling. Sports Betting Hearings. Washington, ' D.C., Ace-Federal worters, Inc., 1975. \ -42. Rubner. Alex. The Economics of Gambling. Toronto, Ontario; Macmillan and Company Limited. 1966. .

43. Scam&, John. Complete Guide to Gambling. New York, New York; Sim and Shuster. 1976.

44. Slack, Trevor. Should All Sports Gambling Be Legalized? Unpublished *

' 45. Sturgeon. R+o. Guide to Sports Betting. New York,. New York; . Earper and Raw Company. 1974.

46. Tec, Nachama. Gambling in Sweden. Totowa, New Jersey;JBe~minster

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