Prospect of staff-less betting shops discussed at bookmakers' trade fair

The vision of a ‘staff-less’ betting shop on the solution to declining business among independent operators was the main message delivered by bookmaker Howard Chisholm to a packed audience at the TVC Bookmakers’ Trade Fair in Solihull last week.

Chisholm suggested taking a lead from banks that had reacted to economic pressure by closing staffed branches but retaining ATMs, and highlighted the radical measures introduced by BetXS in three shops in Ireland, which are 100 per cent automated.

Chisholm, who operates 38 shops, mainly in the north-east of England, and is a director of the not-for-profit Bookmakers Technology Consortium (BTC) that provides services to 700 independent outlets, said: "Could you have a betting shop open until, say, 6pm, then the shutters come down but customers can still access self-service terminals until 10pm? It sounds far-fetched, but it’s already happening."