Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

SP bookmaking is a term commonly used to describe all forms of illegal bookmaking. The term "SP" refers to the starting price of horses, and illegal bookmakers became known as the "SP's” because of a widespread practice of paying out winning bets on the basis of the starting price.

Imagine having the reputation as being the largest SP bookmaker in Australia. That was my dad, Kevin James Timms.
Born on January 1 1925, Kevin grew up in Carlton with his two brothers, Brian and Bill, and sister Joan. He attended primary school at St Georges Primary before moving to St Josephs where he passed his merit certificate. Kevin completed his school years at St Kevin's.

Describing himself as a conscientious student, Kevin studied hard and achieved excellent marks. He loved his school years and has no regrets about them.
He also feels this way about his decision to join the military in 1943. As soon as he turned 18 he enlisted in the Australian Air Force. He completed his training in Australia, prior to going to England. Choosing the Air Force over the army was an easy decision for Kevin to make; he had the qualifications for the Air Force and felt that it would be safer.

Fortunately, Kevin came out of the war without a scratch, attaining the rank of Warrant Officer. He returned to Australia in August of 1945, but was not discharged from the Air Force until December of the same year.

Under the C.R.T. (Commonwealth Retraining Scheme) Kevin attended Melbourne University where he completed his commerce degree. On January 21 1949 he married Lenore Scullion.

They went on to have seven children and loved every minute of their years together raising a family.

During his time at Melbourne University, Kevin became an illegal bookmaker (it was considered illegal because he was not paying betting tax). He came to be a bookmaker because one day, Kevin was at home studying while his brother Brian was receiving bets from his mates over the phone, and Kevin overheard the conversation and decided that half the bets were ridiculous.

He convinced his brother to keep his friends' money instead of placing the bets. If the horses lost they could keep the money, but if the horses won, they would have to pay Brian's friends.

By the end of the day Kevin and Brian had made 50 pounds and this was the start of an astonishing career for Kevin. Kevin was a bookmaker for 35 years, 1947 until 1977. During his time as a bookmaker, Kevin was caught by the police only once, in 1965. He was let off lightly with a hundred pound fine.

Considering the business was turning over 2 million pounds a year, 100 pounds was zilch. At one stage of his career Kevin was considered to be the biggest SP (Starting Price) bookmaker in Australia.

There were two main reasons for his success: using an accounting machine and using a code system to take bets. The accounting machine would record all bets taken. This allowed Kevin to take numerous bets, consequently resulting in larger revenue. He also developed a code system that would keep him from being caught. Instead of calling Kevin and placing your bet, you would call his partner and give him a number. His partner would then call Kevin and tell him all the numbers. Kevin would call the person (depending on which number was given) and ask for their bet, e.g. the number 7 was Mr X at work, Kevin would call Mr X at work and receive his bet. The system was ingenious and allowed Kevin to work without the police being able to trace the calls.

Warrant Officer KEVIN J. TIMMS attended Christian Brothers' College, Toorak, before taking up duty in the Teachers' Branch of the Education Department.
He enlisted in the R.A.A.F. air crew in February, 1943. After training in wireless and in air gunnery, he embarked for England in January, 1944, in the Nieuw Amsterdam via Durban (South Africa).
He under­ went further training in England and in August, 1944, left for the Middle East where at Jerusalem and at Suez he was attached to the R.A.F. In February, 1945, he left Cairo by air for Italy (via Malta) where he took part in night armed recon­ naissance and intruder work as member of a R.A.F. crew.
He returned to Australia in May, 1945, and was discharged in the September following.