‘All Bets are Off’ – Ladbrokes, Marlborough’s last bookmakers odd on to close

Marlborough may be pretty central to the epicentre of the racing world in the UK but as from 20 November there won’t be any betting shops for punters to pop in to and place a wager.

The last bookies on the High Street, Ladbrokes will close on 20 November. Good news for those who criticise the gambling industry and the effect it has on many in society, but in practice it’s driving gamblers online which, in the opinion of many exacerbates the gambling addiction issue.

Betting shops, like pubs were centres of many a community, where people would meet, socialise and live. But both are disappearing fast and while drinking is more likely to take place at home, so is gambling, on the smartphone or the computer. Easier to spend more, lose (or win?) more, and faster. But without the chat and the socialising, which made the time spent in the bookies so important.

But there is also another reason – fixed odds betting terminals (FOBT). The gradual crack down on these machines has meant that the shops aren’t anywhere near to their previous levels of profitability so aren’t viable any more, and visit the Marlborough Ladbrokes at any time and there’s hardly anyone there. But the clamping down on the machines will have made a difference, on the High Streets anyway, but again it will have pushed the gambling industry further online. Just watch any football match – or many other sports programmes – and count the number of gambling ads. And they are all promoting the ‘remote’ gambling, mainly via the handset.

And, as one very familiar with the Marlborough branch of Ladbrokes explained: it’s rent, Covid, and now energy costs. Same pressures as those affecting just about every other retail business, but unlike almost every other retail establishment a bookies can’t increase prices…..

So Marlborough, home for many trainers, owners, jockeys, stable lads and all other members of the racing community will be without a High St betting shop for the first time in generations. Probably quite a few generations. But the closing of the shop is not necessarily going to lessen the gambling problem.

Whilst the closure of the Marlborough Ladbrokes and other similar shops elsewhere will have an effect on the communities surrounding these shops, there will be one set of winners on this bet. And they will be the owners of these businesses who, without the costs of the shops, will probably just sit back and watch the profits soar.