Sport Betting Odds

Betting shops were legalised on the 1st May 1961 but prior to that in the early days sport betting was seen as seedy and mainly took place behind closed doors. In 1934 William Hill founded his company, this was an age when there wasn’t a governing body to oversee the industry. In some incidences bets would be placed without money changing hands and this could lead to all kinds of friction when accounts were to be settled. On the other hand, without a governing body, bookmakers weren’t legally obliged to pay out winnings to their punters and many abused this.

When William Hill started his betting odds business he was determined that he was going to run it in a honest manner, many bookies were not to be trusted and he saw this as a great business opportunity for himself to make a good reputation. That is exactly what he did; a reputation built on honesty, trustworthiness and knowledge. The only way you could place a bet at this time with William Hill was by telephone or post. The customer would have to send their bet along with a cheque weeks before the sporting event. By staying true to his honesty, William Hill became the business we know today.