ABSTRACT
Recovering quickly after the Second World War, the 231 pool companies in February 1948 had declined to 42 in December 1950, and four by the late-1970s. The initial rapid decline was largely a product of the introduction of the Pool Betting Duty in 1948, as 10 per cent of the pool rising to 42.5 per cent over the next 35 years. What this meant was that the pools fell increasingly into the hands of the large firms, with Littlewood and Vernons controlling around 90 per cent of the growing market by the 1980s. Indeed, the industry grew because of the effective way in which the large companies marketed their product and highlighted their huge prizes. By the 1950s, television and radio ensured that the football results at 4.45 pm on a Saturday night became a highpoint of the week for many families. The pools survived the bad winter of 1962–1963, when many football fixtures were abandoned, by setting up a Pools Panel to predict the results of abandoned matches. However, by the 1960s, with the liberalisation of society, the pools faltered as younger generational interest declined, and as other forms of gambling emerged and developed. The pool companies fought back by their charity work investments into football but in the end rightfully feared the challenge of The National Lottery.
