BBC - Britain At The Bookies: Survival Of The Fittest (2015)

Over the last ten years, the betting industry has boomed. The big betting companies have opened shops in ever more prominent positions, sometimes right next to each other. Online, we’ve become the biggest punters in Europe. From the lottery to the race course, having a flutter has never been more popular, and it’s the bookies who are making a killing.

For the first time, one of the big high street brands, Coral, is letting us in to the extraordinary world of betting, showing us how they draw the punters in, set the odds and try and get the edge over their customers. They’re selling us the thrill of a win, with an endless range of betting products available around the clock, 365 days of the year. From horse racing, to controversial fixed odds betting terminals, to reality TV results, if you want a price on a bet, then Coral’s traders will give you the odds.

But not everyone sees betting as just another high street product and the industry’s critics are more galvanised and vocal than ever. Gambling addiction can wreak havoc on punters' lives and those around them. Public concern about the dangers of Britain's gambling revolution has forced the industry to start looking at itself, but are their attempts to self-regulate too little, too late?

Episode 1
On Huddersfield High Street, there's a turf war playing out. Eleven betting shops are crowded into the town centre, and it's the big chains that have taken the prime positions. As the long-serving manager of one of the town's oldest shops, the Kirkgate branch of Coral, Tony knows he has a fight on his hands. Tony runs his shop like a social club, and his tight-knit staff and host of regulars make it one of the company's most successful shops in the North East. Now Tony has got to use all his skills to turn around the fortunes of another branch which is less than 70 meters away - Cherrytree. The shop has a reputation for disruptive and often violent customers and is failing to hit its profit targets. In the battle of the high street, Tony needs to ensure both Coral branches survive and beat the opposition.

Tony can sell bets on everything from traditional dog races, to the name of the Royal baby and the winner of reality TV shows. At the trading floor at Coral's East London HQ, Gary is working out the odds for the new series of Strictly Come Dancing. The public's love affair with Judy Murray causes Gary some major headaches as his favourable odds look like they could lead to a big payout. Also at HQ, the marketing team devise a scheme designed to entice people into opening online accounts. For a five pound stake punters stand to win 25 pounds if a top premiership team win a corner at home. It's effectively a £250,000 giveaway but if it results in 10,000 new customers in the fiercely fought over new online market it could be a gamble worth taking.

Back in Huddersfield, Stuart isn't loyal to a particular betting brand. A self-confessed ‘compulsive gambler’, he trawls all the shops in town, trying his luck on the fixed odds betting terminals. It's left him with nothing, and we see the consequences of his addiction and his life on benefits.

Manager Tony has to balance the problems that customers like Stuart have with his need to drum up trade in his shops. He doesn't gamble himself but doesn't see any problems with that: "I am sure there are lots of vegetarians who are butchers" he says. By the end of the film, will Tony's methods have saved Cherrytree? Will any of the bookies in Huddersfield be forced to close? And how will Stuart deal with his addiction, which could leave him penniless, without enough food to last him until his next benefit payment?