Sports Odds

When it comes to sports odds the most popular bookies name must be Ladbrokes. Their shops have graced our high streets for decades with their bright red and green frontage and now they are just as popular on the internet. The first signs of betting shops were in the mid 1800 but were quickly over thrown by the 1853 Betting Act.

In 1886 Messers Pendleton and Schwind came together to act as commission agents for Worcestershire’s Ladbroke Hall’s trained horses. In 1902 Arther Bendir joined forces with Pendleton and Schwind and on their first meeting at Ladbroke Hall the name ‘Ladbrokes’ was given to their venture. Bendir changed the emphasis on horses to bookmaker and around four years after Bendir merged with Pendleton and Schwind, the Ladbrokes home was in the West End at Hanover House then in 1913 they moved to Old Burlington Street.

The 1920’s, 1930’s and 1940’s saw a massive boom for Ladbrokes but by the 1950’s unrest was starting to show as the company seem to be set in their ways and found it hard to move with the times. The ageing directors seemed unconvinced that letting the common man on the street open accounts was a good idea and preferred to keep their business only open to those of means and status.

The change came in 1956 when Max Parker and his nephew Cyril Stein bought the company and introduced no-limit betting and sponsored it’s very first horse race. To encourage new customers especially those who didn’t have an interest in horse racing, he came up with fixed sports odds for football betting. 1963 came and Ladbrokes decided to take a chance and offer odds on a political election profiting a mere £1400 however, three years later with the general election, they netted a staggering £1.6 million.