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An Occupational Analysis of the Sports Bookmaker University of Calgary PRISM: University of Calgary's Digital Repository 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 Downloaded from PRISM: https://prism.ucalgary.ca , 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).
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