Online Betting Gets A Facelift

28th April, 2010

History was being made at a UK racecourse today, as for the first time ever UK bookies were offering decimal prices to punters, reflecting a trend set by a leading online betting exchange.

Since the early 1960's, uk bookies have offered customers fractional odds - such as 4/1 and 100/30. Such prices have stuck with punters ever since, even though to today's generation they might seem strange.

Fast forward to the late 1990's at the phenomenon that is Betfair means that today's bettors are more likely to understand 34.00 than 'double carpet' 33/1.

So during Ascot, a few of the bookmakers will offer decimal prices - including the lasing Irish bookmaker Paddy Power, who told Sky News this evening...

'There are some dinosaurs in racing who won't want this, but we'll give the gambling public whatever they want.'

The body behind this move is headed up by Chris McFadden - chairman of Racing For Change, who added to the discussion...

'We need to attract a younger audience and to do that we need to overhaul betting language that is alien to anybody who went to school since the UK went decimal in 1971.'

The decimal system is used throughout the world, most notably in Europe online, as well as in the betting shops of Australia, where punters can bet on racing and sit playing online pokies at the same time.

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