Victor Chandler, known as the Gentleman Bookmaker, is one of the British betting industry’s legendary figures. A fourth-generation bookie, he pioneered telephone betting and was one of the first in the industry to realise that there was big money to be made in cross-border gambling. In 1999 he cocked a snook at the Establishment, particularly the Chancellor, by moving his entire operation to Gibraltar and launching a tax-free telephone betting service. The 9 per cent betting tax was swiftly removed.
Mr Chandler never intended to go into the family bookmaking business and instead went to Switzerland to train to be a chef. When his father died in 1975, he took over the firm, but found it in poor shape. This year the Victor Chandler Group is 60 years old and has a turnover of more than £1 billion, thanks to new directions taken by Mr Chandler, now 55, that seem commonplace today.
Huge bets on football from clients in the Far East triggered his move into foreign markets. Later he was an early promoter of online casino and poker games. His favourite pastime is horse riding.