Decline of 'the pools' highlights how things have changed as our options have increased

News that Sportech, current owners of The Football Pools, has sold the gambling operation for 97 million pounds ($126 million; 113 million euros) brought back a flood of memories.

Back in the late 1970s and early 1980s, "the pools" were a major distraction in my parents' home and the cause of no end of grief for teenage me because they inspired my father to call for absolute silence every Saturday evening as James Alexander Gordon read out the football results over the airwaves of the BBC.

It seemed like they went on forever.

For those who don't know what I'm talking about, the pools allowed people to bet on the results of football matches. Gamblers would pick up a blank pools coupon early in the week and put their Xs next to the games they predicted would end in a draw. These pieces of paper would then be gathered up on a Thursday by the local pools collector, money would be paid, and bets officially laid.

Then, on Saturday afternoon, after the day's football had ended, everyone would gather around their radios and listen while the aforementioned Gordon, who had the voice of a genial Scottish uncle, would tell the nation how the games ended.

Those of us who listened a lot, could predict by the tone of his voice how many goals had been scored and whether a game was won, drawn or lost.

I hated the whole thing because I was usually having my tea when the call for silence came and in the middle of excitedly telling a story, or arguing with my sisters.

Now, of course, as is so often the case when we look back, I remember it all with great affection as, no doubt, do millions of other Brits who grew up around the same time.

What I had failed to notice before reading about the sale was just how irrelevant the pools had become.

The pools, which began 93 years ago and which once had 10 million players a week, are now played by only around 300,000.

And it's easy to see why. While, in their heyday, they had been the only way British people could gamble their way to riches, there are scores of options today - with countless lotteries, online casinos, sweepstakes, scratch cards, bingo and more - where people can bet a small sum on an exceptionally long-odds gamble in the hope of winning big.

Today, more people than ever gamble on long-odds games but, with so much choice, we hardly ever bump into anyone who plays the same game we do.

It is similar to what happened with TV. Back in the day, we all watched the same shows and talked about them with our friends the next morning. Today, with so many channels and so much choice, we all watch something different and have no shared experience to discuss around the water cooler.

Choice is good, but it does make me wonder which shared memories today's generation will grow up with.

The author is an editor for China Daily UK. Contact the writer at earle@mail.chinadailyuk.com

(China Daily European Weekly 09/23/2016 page10)