I popped into a Coral shop today to do a football bet. Newcastle (1-2) and Sheffield Wednesday (4-6) for a £100 double. I had checked their odds on oddschecker.com beforehand. After scribbling the details on a betting slip I slid it and the dosh across the counter in the direction of the bloke standing behind it. He gazed at it then at a fixed odds football coupon for today's matches.

It transpired that the shop odds on those matches, per the coupon, were 2-5 and 8-11. That left me confused. "How can the same company offer different odds on the same event?" I asked him. "Does it matter?" was his curious response. I resisted the urge to call him a thick kent and instead explained to him that the returns for a winning bet was at least 10% less. He gave a "so what?" look. I responded by asking him whether he'd just shrug if Coral paid him 10% less in wages next week. Naturally, I didn't place the bet but did grab a coupon on the way out. It was clear when comparing those odds with their online prices that they are taking the piss out of their High Street customers, and after a little research, every other bookie with a presence on the ground are also taking theirs for mugs.