A former Cup Match hero and teacher turned bookmaker has taken his own gamble with two new shops.

GameTime — founded in Hamilton six years ago — now has premises in the east and west — and company chief Albert Steede reckons his gamble is paying off.

Mr Steede said: “Betting is a huge business and some people just don’t like travelling to town — they’d rather stay in the east and west.

“This is giving them an additional option — they have grocery stores and other kinds of stores, so why not a betting shop?

“The response has been good — I haven’t advertised and once people get to know about the new shops, curiosity will get to them and they’ll come in and take a look.”

The GameTime in Somerset, on Somerset Road, near Western Union, opened its doors just three weeks ago, while the St George shop, on Water Street, started operations two months ago. Mr Steede, who captained both Somerset and Bermuda in cricket, added that the level of business had been stable, despite the recession. He said: “People like to win something by betting — business has been about the same, no more and no less.”

He added: “The numbers that leave the Island to go to Vegas, Atlantic City and other locations around the world tells us the appetite is there and shows the magnitude of the business.

“Sports betting is a multibillion dollar industry and that’s increasing every year.”

And Mr Steede said one of the secrets of success was offering more than just traditional sports betting, with games like scratch cards and numbers games.

And he said a new game involving picking three numbers for a chance to win $25,000 would be introduced at the start of next month.

Mr Steede said that — if no one wins — the proceeds would go to charity instead.

The former deputy head of Saltus Grammar School explained: “To give back to the community is very important.”

He added that he had already spotted differences between east and west in gambling habits.

Mr Steede said: “St George’s is a conservative, slow-paced community and Somerset is a more aggressive and adventurous place. They will probably try to bet a bit more and try everything I have to offer.

“In St George’s, there were some reservations about the shop because they thought it was going to be a certain look — but I surpassed their expectations.”

Mr Steede said he changed careers after a former colleague at Saltus, Cleon Scotland, showed him an advert for a bookmakers for sale.

The two joined forces to buy up what became GameTime, although Mr Scotland and his family pulled out of the business 18 months ago when he and his family moved to Britain.

Mr Steede said: “I was quite fortunate because I was given a leave of absence from Saltus in the event it didn’t work out.

“I also had a degree in mathematics as a back-up, so I had no worries or concerns. Once you educate yourself, you have many more options.

“I felt confident going into the endeavour because I had something to fall back on.

“It’s just me now and it’s busy. I wanted to expand so decided to try.” The company now employs a total of eight people across the three locations.

Mr Steede said: “I have a fantastic staff — without them I would probably go insane. The staff make a huge difference.”

He added: “People can come in and ask questions — the staff will be more than happy to explain different things to them and help them try them out.”

Mr Steede said that all the GameTime premises were bright and clean — far removed from the traditional image of a betting shop.

He added: “If anyone comes into all my shops, it’s fresh, modern and clean and that attracts more women in — there are more women every month.”

Mr Steede said: “My clientele is great. There’s no one here spending their mortgage or rent. They don’t spend what they can’t afford to lose, which is what I always tell people to do.

“It’s good fun and if people win it’s a bonus. It’s a legal way of trying to get a little extra in the pocket.”