The UK’s gambling addiction has swelled nearly six-fold in the past
three years, jumping from ?7.6bn waged annually to ?40bn. Once the
domain of shifty fellers with the form guide stuffed in their
overcoats heading into a smoky bookmakers’, gambling has obtained
living room acceptability: every fifth program (channel, sometimes) on cable TV is some kind of Hold ‘Em poker showdown, new specialist
magazines are filling the shelves, and a former porn princess floated
her online casino company for a tidy ?5bn.

But the boom isn’t universal. The “pools“, in which punters try to
pick eight soccer scoring ties for a possible (but rare) ?2m jackpot,
has seen its turnover drop 90% in the past ten years. Over a million
regular players still check the pools results and forecast every
Saturday afternoon, but there are simpler ways for Brits to get their
fix. You don’t need to leave your chair to lose your money at online
betting exchanges or casino sites. You don’t even need to pick your
own numbers for the national lottery (maybe its opponents aren’t far
off with their “tax on idiots” jibes).

Pools companies have adapted their competitions to offer simpler
methods of play, but messing with the format is just as likely to turn off long-serving players as attract new ones in a crowded market. And the latter clearly hasn’t happened — according to the Guardian article, “the typical player is male, aged over 50 and is most likely to live on Merseyside, Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, or Strathclyde” — all traditionally working class areas. A makeover is clearly needed, because now it’s possible to gamble on which girl will receive skimpily-clad fame, it might not be long before their eyes wander too.

Pools Firms Hit by Tidal Wave of Online Betting [The Guardian]