Who Killed the Bookies? : Tracking
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WHO KILLED THE BOOKIES? : TRACKING TOTALISATORS AND BOOKMAKERS ACROSS LEGAL AND ILLEGAL GAMBLING MARKETS A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Anthropology in the University of Canterbury by R. A. Graham University of Canterbury 2007 ÿ Table of contents Table of contents........................................................................................................1 Table of figures..........................................................................................................4 Acknowledgements....................................................................................................6 Abstract......................................................................................................................7 Chapter One .............................................................................................................8 Introduction................................................................................................................8 Aims of Thesis: ....................................................................................................10 Method.................................................................................................................12 Theorising Gambling............................................................................................15 Illegal horserace gambling markets...................................................................17 An actor-network analysis of gambling.............................................................19 Thesis Chapter outline..........................................................................................22 Chapter Two...........................................................................................................27 Re-assembling Networks: the introduction of totalisators .........................................27 Introduction..........................................................................................................27 Introducing the totalisator.....................................................................................28 The New Zealand experience................................................................................30 The Four Moments of Translation ........................................................................33 Problematisation...............................................................................................33 Interessement ...................................................................................................35 Enrolment and Mobilisation .............................................................................37 The illegal gambling market .................................................................................38 Excerpt A .....................................................................................................40 The Dominion Sportsmen’s Association...........................................................41 The Post and Telegraph Department and Telephones........................................43 Excerpt B: ....................................................................................................43 Excerpt C: ....................................................................................................44 The New Zealand Police...................................................................................45 Excerpt D .....................................................................................................46 Excerpt E......................................................................................................47 Summary..............................................................................................................48 Chapter Three ........................................................................................................54 Sites, Services and Scams: Describing the illegal gambling market ..........................54 Introduction..........................................................................................................54 Multiple Sites.......................................................................................................55 Mobile sites of gambling ..................................................................................56 The Hotel .........................................................................................................59 Retail and Workplace sites of gambling............................................................60 Sporting facilities and Racecourses...................................................................61 Multiple services ..................................................................................................63 Doubles betting ................................................................................................63 ‘Tote’ tickets ....................................................................................................64 Fixed odds, limit betting and tote odds..............................................................65 Example A: Fixed odds................................................................................66 Example B: Totalisator odds –‘Tote odds’ ....................................................66 Example C: Limit betting..............................................................................66 Credit betting....................................................................................................68 Scams...................................................................................................................69 Summary..............................................................................................................71 Chapter Four..........................................................................................................75 Co-existing remote gambling sites............................................................................75 Introduction..........................................................................................................75 The Government and the Racing Clubs.................................................................77 Remote betting outlets..........................................................................................79 The betting process...........................................................................................80 Telephone and postal betting ............................................................................82 Women and the TAB........................................................................................83 Improvements in the legal betting service .........................................................85 Alignment and Disalignment ................................................................................85 Emergence of new actor-networks....................................................................86 1971 Racing Act...............................................................................................87 Illegal remote gambling sites....................................................................................89 Bert: a pub bookmaker .........................................................................................90 A Phone Bookmaker ............................................................................................94 Summary..............................................................................................................96 Chapter Five...........................................................................................................98 Heterogeneous networks of the social.......................................................................98 Illegal bookmaking 1970-2000 .............................................................................98 Introduction..........................................................................................................98 Introducing the bookmakers .................................................................................99 Networks of relations .........................................................................................101 Tote Odds.......................................................................................................102 Credit and the collection of debts....................................................................103 Notebooks ......................................................................................................104 Laying Off Bets..............................................................................................106 The Punters ....................................................................................................108 Commission Agents........................................................................................109 Bookmakers and the Police.................................................................................111 Hotel raids......................................................................................................112 Telephone bookmaker raids............................................................................113 Changing Relationships..................................................................................115 Summary............................................................................................................117 Chapter Six...........................................................................................................120