How Betfair created a new generation of punters - not all of them well-informed

This is the second in a three-part series focusing on professional gambling. Members' Club Ultimate subscribers can read part one on life in the betting ring here and part three on the future of pro punting from 6pm on Wednesday.

It was not simply that online betting suddenly became a thing. Nor was it just because along with the internet came Betfair and a new sort of gambling. It was the arrival of the digital age, the launch of the mighty exchange and the disappearance of tax that meant for professional punters the new millennium delivered a new world.

As the Nineties gave way to the Noughties, racing's biggest bettors were still at the races. No tax was imposed on bets struck at the track, whereas in betting shops a nine per cent deduction had to be paid, either initially alongside stakes or subsequently on winnings. That meant meetings big and small and all across Britain were frequented by individuals whose living was made by finding winners and beating bookmakers.