dole" and state pension money, which was dispensed through Post Offices at the time. As early as 1938, £500,000,000 was being gambled on horse racing in England according to the Christian Social Council Committee on Gambling. However, betting shops were not legalised until 1960, at which time many of the famous British betting shop chains such as William Hill, Ladbrokes and Corals were legally established on the high street. Previously betting was either on course, via certain credit betting offices, or illegally conducted often in or around public houses, with 'bookies runners' ferrying the bets from bookmaker to client. Betting is taxed under the authority of various acts of Parliament. A gross profit tax is levied on all UK based bookmakers which is payable to the exchequer, and a separate sum is agreed and collected by the Horserace Betting Levy Board, a non-departmental public body of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, who use the funds for race prize money and the improvement of horse racing. For the latest year reported, the levy resulted in £103.5 million being collected. Member of Parliament Clement Freud, who himself had owned racehorses, alleged in an article published in the 1970s, before his election to Parliament, that horse racing was organized purely to generate taxes. He cited the large number of otherwise non-viable racecourses kept open (to ensure sufficient races being run) even as the financial rewards to the owners and trainers declined to the point where most could barely cover their expenses. On 6 October 2001, the Government abolished the turnover-based tax on betting, which had been 9% of the stake or the winnings, the punter having the choice to pay a certain small amount or an uncertain large amount. The tax, now based on gross profit, is now effectively indirectly levied on the punters, the cost being absorbed in the odds that bookmakers offer. The last 10 years in the UK has seen massive growth in online gambling. Punters are now going online to place their bets, where technology gives them access to a greater wealth of information and knowledge. Now racing punters exchange information on online forums, tipping sites etc. For example, over 200,000 people are set to participate in the next Cheltenham festivals. Key people Jockeys In the early days of British horse racing, owners tended to ride their own horses in races. This practice died out as racing