Victor Chandler says betting online offers enhanced value to his customers

  PICTURE: Mark Cranham  

Victor Chandler to close phone betting service

VICTOR CHANDLER are shutting their Gibraltar-based telephone betting service as part of operational changes in the company's handling of customer care and bet placement.

A letter has been sent out informingclients the bookmaker will not be accepting bets over the phone - other than from VIP punters - from September 1, although they will continue to offer a customer-care call centre, which has been extended to 24 hours every day.

Telephone betting makes up a diminishing share of the gambling market and Chandler calculate the closure, that does not involve any compulsory job losses, will affect only about 0.3 per cent of their customer base, the majority of whom the firm hopes will switchto internet betting.

Chairman Victor Chandler said: "Ninety-seven per cent of all bets I accept are placed online or via my mobile services. Too much resource is focused on accepting bets over the telephone and not enough on offering an enhanced service to online customers.

"There are some customers who I'd prefer to use the internet rather than call with bets, and these customers are being contacted. Betting online is a huge advantage to the customer andoffers enhanced value."

Chandler confirmed his "elite" betting service will continue accepting customer bets by phone and added that this area of business had "significantly increased" in terms of customer andemployee numbers in recent weeks.