I work in a betting shop too (part time, while I'm a student). When I started last April, I had a lot of preconceptions, and pretty much none of them were true. Yes, some of our customers are certainly hard drinking (in fact, most of our shops are situated next door to a pub!), but about ninety percent of them have stopped smoking at the counter since the signs went up. It's true that people are rarely, if ever, going to win more than they spend, and certainly some people have a problem. But most of our regulars appear to have a system, eg they bet on the same horses every time, and appear to limit themselves to a certain amount - or at least, not to be spending more than they can afford. After a while you can tell the ones with a problem, because they tend to get abusive when they lose. For most people though, I think it's just a hobby. After all, you pay to (for example) go to the cinema, and you will never get that money back - gambling is just another way of paying for your entertainment (provided you don't expect your money back - that's just an added bonus). And as Batsgirl said, you get nice regulars too - the ones who bring you a biscuit or a bar of chocolate every day, or who turn up out of the blue with donuts and say "do you want one?" (Yes please, thank you very much!) I can explain all the betting terms except "handicap" (that's more of a race-course than a betting shop thing) if you want. I guess you're not that interested though and I don't blame you! :-)