Return of the Racing Post/SIS Betting Shop Manager of the Year competition

It has been a tumultuous couple of years for the retail bookmaking industry in Britain and Ireland and today marks the return of the prestigious Racing Post/SIS Betting Shop Manager of the Year competition.

It was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 because of the pandemic and although a one-off Betting Shop Champions Awards took place last year, the joint-sponsors are delighted to announce the return of the long-standing awards.

It also means the reign of the longest-serving champion since the awards were first held in 1988 will finally come to an end in November, and Sandra Gilmartin will only be too happy to pass the torch on as it will mean some sort of normality has returned to the industry.

She says: “It’s fabulous that the awards are coming back. Betting shop managers, along with many other people in numerous sectors, have had to cope with lots of challenges over the last two years. They deserve to be recognised and I think it’s wonderful because we are getting back to some sort of normality.”

No-one could possibly have predicted what would happen in the months after Gilmartin, 52, picked up her award from TV personality and racing fan Chris Hughes in London in November 2019. Four months later Gilmartin attended the Cheltenham Festival days before the Covid-19 pandemic plunged the world into chaos and uncertainty.

Sandra Gilmartin: 'We’ve always had a close relationship with our customers'

She explains how it impacted her customers: “We’ve always had a close relationship with our customers and at the height of the pandemic we reached out to them. We are unlike lots of other retailers in so far as we see many of our customers regularly.

“You get to know about their families, where they live, what they do – all these things and much more. You wouldn’t have these kinds of conversations down at the local supermarket for example.”

When Gilmartin landed the prize three years ago she was working for Paddy Power in Coventry, but since last July she has been on secondment at the firm’s head office.

She says: “It’s been a really good experience working in head office. For the first six months I was in compliance working closely with our shop colleagues with a core part of our support being safer gambling.

“I really enjoyed that as it’s right up my street – something that’s vital in the shops as well as across online. For three out of five days each week, I was visiting shops and talking to staff. Since January I’ve been working in central operations.

“I’m delighted to add that I’ve recently accepted a permanent position as key accounts executive, which includes working with our customers online. This will be a new avenue for me, but it remains customer focused with safer gambling being one of its core values, which I’m very much looking forward to.”

One of the most important milestones in that return to normality for bookmakers was Grand National day last month as it was the first time in three years that shops have been open on that most important of days for the whole industry.

Gilmartin says: “On Grand National day I went into the shops to support our managers and staff. It was wonderful to see customers back in on such a vital day for us all. There were the regulars, of course, but also the once-a-year punters. They were all delighted to take in the atmosphere and try their luck with a small bet.”

Sandra Gilmartin of Paddy Power (bottom, middle) with the seven other finalists in November 2019Credit: Edward Whitaker

Gilmartin believes the retail sector – and betting shop staff in particular – still have a major part to play in the future.

She says: “It’s like when machines arrived in the shops and I wondered what our role as staff was going to be. However, it’s all about the atmosphere in the shop and although there are more and more digital products, staff still have an important role to play. We will always be there as it’s a customer-focused business.”

Recalling her trip to London for the final of the competition, Gilmartin says: “I was so happy to reach the final eight and I wasn’t the slightest bit nervous. I did not expect to win it, but when I did, it was fantastic. I also made seven good friends. We’re all still in touch today.

“It was a learning experience talking to the other finalists about how their shops operated, how they approached work and customer service.”

That experience awaits one manager and in November we will crown our latest champion to join the roll of honour.

How the competition works

It is up to the major companies to determine their qualifiers. There are eight regional competitions: Ireland, Scotland, north-east, north-west and Isle of Man, Midlands and Wales, south-west and Channel Islands, Anglia and south-east, and Greater London.

In the seven British regions, Betfred, Coral, Ladbrokes, Paddy Power and William Hill will be asked to put forward two nominations for each area.

In Ireland, there are two places reserved for BoyleSports, Ladbrokes, Paddy Power and William Hill.

For all independent managers, they can enter by emailing their full name and shop address to bsmoty@sis.tv by May 31.

Each manager will then receive a written question paper and six per region will be chosen to go through to the next round by the judging panel.

The 48 managers through to this stage will each receive a mystery shopper visit, after which the panel will select the final 24 (three per region).

Those 24 managers will then spend a day at the races at Doncaster at the end of October, where they will meet the judges for the first time. Eight regional champions will be chosen from this day.

Each regional champion, along with a key member of their shop staff, will then attend the final selection in London, which involves a question-and-answer session with the judges on the day before the final.

The final awards lunch takes place in London in November and the winner will be invited to several key racing and betting events during their year as champion.

Roll of honour

Year Winner (Firm)
1988 Willie Allison (William Hill)
1989 Peter Dagnall (Coral)
1990 Clive Eves (Ladbrokes)
1991 Peter Martin (William Hill)
1992 Barbara Holland (Coral)
1993 Jan Vince (AR Dennis)
1994 Eddie Amakoh (Coral)
1995 Martin Kelly (Coral)
1996 Ellen Killen (Ladbrokes)
1997 Leila Craig (Coral)
1998 Anthony O’Hara (Stanley Racing)
1999 Alan McEwan (William Hill)
2000 Gail Abbott (Braybrook Racing)
2001 Michael Hatton (Coral)
2002 Siobhan Gallagher (Coral)
2003 Jackie Sweeting (William Hill)
2004 Anita Graham (Totesport)
2005 Sean Holden (Totesport)
2006 Michelle Fox (BoyleSports)
2007 Steph Davies (Coral)
2008 Andrea Baker (Coral)
2009 Angie Bowers (Ladbrokes)
2010 Michael Demetriou (Choicebet)
2011 Andy Bennett (Scotbet)
2012 Barbara Berki (William Hill)
2013 Aidan Connolly (Coral)
2014 Adam Hurley (Ladbrokes)
2015 Matt Howe (Ladbrokes)
2016 Rob Mabbett (Betfred)
2017 Ron Hearn (Jenningsbet)
2018 Lorraine Archibald (Ladbrokes)
2019 Sandra Gilmartin (Paddy Power)

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