Bookmaking

Bookmaking, the practice of setting odds and taking and paying off bets, has been a part of society since ancient times. This entry contains a social history of bookmaking in the United States and England. Often considered deviant, as well as a criminal career, bookmaking has occupied a place in society that is at times seen as a respectable business while at other times judged in a harsher moral light. Which activities are considered deviant has always depended on which groups have the power to define deviance. Additionally, those labels change with place and time.

Activities similar to what we know today as bookmaking are documented as far back as 1766. In that year, Richard Tattersall began selling horses in England at Hyde Park Corner. In addition to [Page 76]the auctioneer business, Tattersall also occupied a space at the racetrack in an area known as the Subscription Rooms. It was here that every Monday bets on horse races were settled. The practice was based on rules established by the Jockey Club, a group of aristocrats and prominent patrons of Tattersall. This location was designated as a physical place to ensure debt payments on lost wagers. If a wager was not settled satisfactorily, the bettor would be barred from the track. Most racecourses made use of similar rules as the basis for their own operations. By 1800, racecourses had grown in number and popularity, and the need for more bookmakers increased.

As early as the 1870s, American bookmaking, as well as auction pools and what eventually became known as pari-mutuel wagering, rapidly grew with the increased popularity of horse racing in the United States. American bookmaking found inspiration from the system used at British horse tracks.

Many tracks closed during the rise of antigambling movements in the first half of the 20th century, as the possibility of enforcement of gambling laws increased. With renewed popularity, horse racing made a comeback in the 1920s accompanied by tighter state regulations and the implementation of pari-mutuel betting on the horse track property. Onsite bookmakers were no longer welcomed at the track. At the same time that on-track bookmakers were being displaced, bookmaking syndicates were developing. A major problem for off-track bookmakers was the possibility that they may be unable to pay customers when too much was bet on a winning horse. Neighborhood bookmaking syndicates were an answer to this problem. Bookmakers found financial backing and received information and protection via syndicate leaders. With this form of betting, small-time bookmakers accepted wagers on horses and kept a fixed percentage. They would then pass the rest on to a backer, usually someone who owned a large horse parlor.

A bookmaker's success is tied to his access to track information and race results. The Western Union telegraph company enjoyed a monopoly control over information from the racetracks in the late 1800s. Entry into bookmaking was easy while Western Union was the provider of information. All this changed in the early 1900s when, due to legal pressures, Western Union agreed to stop providing track information. This left bookmaking more complicated as other race wire systems competed for control over access to track information.

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