As anyone in the UK will know, in secondary school, it was all about preparing you for the next step. This meant determining what sort of career you would have in the future.
Some jobs required further tutoring, so college and university would likely be on the cards. Others were available to school-leavers from the get-go. To determine that career path, students would be fill out a questionnaire. This occurred through a computer, asking you your preferences on certain scenarios. For example, it would ask if you like being outdoors. Another one asked if you like working in groups or by yourself. The idea through those questions was to whittle down potential career choices.
That questionnaire remains in operation today – known as Skills Assessment. It’s an official government service. Yet the inevitable outcome of binman or fish farmer wasn’t quite what students expected!
With the variety of jobs available to work in, the assessment may have recommended bookmaker to some students. The likelihood is that many people haven’t considered a career in this sector before. Schools don’t tend to push students in this direction. That’s likely because they want all kids to go on to become lawyers or doctors or teachers.
Yet not everyone can contend with such a career. There are those people who are much more capable working with the public. That could be in a supermarket, via their own business or, indeed, in the gambling sector. It’s inevitable that whatever job a person goes for, there will need to be some insight into salary. After all, that’s what we all work for, isn’t it?
That got us thinking – what can you earn from working in a betting shop? Bookmakers usually put a lot of focus on providing sports betting and potential wins. It’s that side of money that has the main draw…but that’s for the bettors themselves. What about the people working inside the betting shops?
Official Figures on Average Salary
The National Careers Service of the UK allows residents to explore potential careers. Via the website, you can find out what a job involves and if it’s the right one for you. This is possible by entering a specific job into the search box or browsing by category. There is a section that focuses on the bookmaking industry. Whether you’re a bookie, a turf accountant or a betting shop manager, it could be ideal for you.
The average salary per yet of someone working in the bookmaking sector varies. Of course, there are different job types and different levels of experience to take note of. Someone who is starting out in the bookmaking field can look towards an average salary of around £18,000. Yet someone who is more experienced with it could be earning around £30,000 per year. A typical working week consists of 41 to 43 hours. It’s also key to note that you could be working evenings, weekends and bank holidays.
It is also relevant to highlight that the salary will differ from location to location in the UK. Someone working in a betting shop in Newcastle likely wouldn’t earn as much as someone in London doing the same. Salaries across the country are very much staggered. Generally speaking, the further north you are, the lower the salary is. Then again, it’s also the case that the cost of living is also lower.
It’s not difficult to get involved in working in the bookmaking sector, either. You can get into it through college, an apprenticeship, applying in a direct way etc. College provides relevant customer service/retail skills. Yet you could even opt to start out at the base level after applying in-store.
Starting from the bottom and working up allows you to gain skills and experience. This way, you can start out as a standard cashier and end up a manager. There is also the potential to manage several betting shops later on. You may even have the skills required to set up your own betting business. It’s not like you have to start out a cashier and remain a cashier your whole life. Not that there is anything wrong with this if you are happy in that role.
Let’s see if we can sort these bookmaker roles into categories. This way, we can try and highlight the expected earnings for them.
Betting Shop Cashier
A betting shop cashier works in high street bookmaker shops. As you would expect, this requires you to stand behind the cashier and take customer bets. You will also deal first-hand with any problems, answer questions, and so on. Often times, it’s a 38-40-hour working week. The typical salary for someone working in this position ranges between £13,000 and £25,000 per year. You will need good customer service skills and be able to cope with a fast-paced environment. Experience in retail sales or customer service would also be helpful skills.
Generally speaking, the busiest times in this role will come when big sporting events take place. Elections and the run-up to Christmas stand out as other busy periods. Welcoming customers, explaining the odds, using computers etc. are all part of the job. It is usually the case that with experience, you have the chance to progress. The next step up from a cashier is to become an assistant manager. Deputy manager or shop manager are also possible. That could then lead to you managing several betting shops within your region.
Betting Shop Manager
Managing a betting shop means that you oversee the day-to-day running of it. You are responsible for the cashiers and other employees within the shop. With this higher level of responsibility, you also have the chance to earn more money. The average base pay for someone in this type of role stands at around £27,000 per year. Yet there are instances of betting shop managers achieving high salaries of £39,000 and above.
Managers do also have some of the same responsibilities as cashiers. They can also take bets from punters, pay out their winnings when successful, and so on. It is also up to them to create a relaxed atmosphere within the betting shop. On top of that, they have to control costs, deal with marketing the shop, handle complaints etc. There is also the possibility for recruitment of other staff members. Setting sales targets is another key area, as is security of the betting shop itself. It’s another busy role to get involved in, and managers may work longer hours than cashier staff. This is one of the major reasons why their salary is higher.
Area Manager
In the same way that a standard manager runs one shop, an area manager handles more. They generally operate several shops within one specific region. As a result, they can visit different shops within a single day. It is also the possibility that a manager will go to one shop one day and another the next. With so many betting shops across the UK, an area manager can cover a lot of ground. This means that their salary can be upwards of £45,000 per year, with bonuses on top.
The usual progression in a betting shop is from cashier to shop manager. Managers may then seek promotion on to area management positions. Going one step further, regional managers may oversee betting shops over a wider area. Anyone with responsibility for over 50 shops is also likely to need a personal licence. That comes from the UK Gambling Commission.
The largest bookmakers also tend to have other roles that need filling. This includes supervisory positions and management roles within head offices or call centres. You may even have the opportunity to work with UK regulatory bodies, such as the UKGC.
One final thing to be aware of is that you may also wish to become self-employed in this sector. You can become an independent bookmaker and/or have your own betting shop. Special regulations are in place for the gambling industry, so you will need to know the proper rules. In this instance, the salary of you and your potential employees will be down to you as the owner.
Betting Shop Cleaners
Betting shops, like anywhere else, need cleaning. That’s all part of the good customer experience they hope to project. While cashiers and managers can keep things in a tidy state every day, proper cleaning should also occur.
Different betting companies have ads up for such personnel. Bet365 does not have any physical shops, but it still advertises for cleaning staff. This is likely to do with its offices and call centres. The base pay average salary of a night cleaner for Bet365 is up to £25,000 per year.
In the end, anyone who operates as a cleaner has the potential to clean a betting shop. Someone who cleans a betting shop isn’t different to someone cleaning a supermarket. The process is the same, in general. Cleaners in the UK tend to have a base salary of about £19,000 per year. Of course, this depends upon the company you work for and/or the betting shop(s) you clean. It can be the case that you make around £25,000 per year as a cleaner via some companies.