Natalie Hinkley was crowned the star of the show at today’s Melbourne Cup Call Of The Card at Crown where she took on punters writing bets upwards of $1million in liability.
swiftbet took multiple big bets from punters on tomorrow’s Melbourne Cup including $15,000 on High Emocean at $61, $70,000 on favourite Deauville Legend, $12,000 on Duais at $31 and $6,000 on Grand Promenade at $101.
swiftbet’s Natalie Hinkley is not your average bookmaker.
Firstly, she comes from a background devoid of any connection to racing in any form and secondly she is excelling in an industry which is predominantly male.
Nat has had a drive to be in the bookmaking game from an age where most kids were not even close to considering what they might want to do with their lives … and her life’s journey has been entrenched in following her passion ever since then.
“I honestly can’t remember what the spark was that pushed me in that direction,” said Hinkley.
“Something must have happened, and it must have been to do with betting because I never had an interest in horses or anything like that. My interest was in betting.
“I just wanted to be a bookmaker for as long as I can remember.
“What I do remember is that in year seven I got caught at a private all girls school trying to run a book and the coordinator rang my mum and told her what I was doing.”
“My parents kind of laughed about it,” continued Hinkley. “They thought that was just absurd. It was just one of those laughable situations”
“I also remember the careers counsellor in year 10 telling me my parents they are wasting their money at this school because you don’t need an education to become a bookmaker.
“My parents were good about it. If I was ultimately going to get involved in the gambling industry they thought it was better to be on the side of the bookmaker than the ordinary punter … but, yeah, I really did know what I wanted to do from a very early age.
“The end-goal was always to become a bookmaker and there wasn’t any difficulty in getting my bookmaker’s license when I was ready … except for the fact that I didn’t originally want to put my personal name out there.
“I had some anxiety reservations in that regard, so I was actually a little bit apprehensive about getting my license early on, but I did end up going through with it and it was a pretty simple process. I got my license in 2016.
“You’ve got to evolve your business with the changing times,” said Hinkley.
“I did do a lot of form early on, but after a while … you know … you have got these professional punters that would come on the scene and they would just use robots and you could do no amount of form to be better than them, so I kind of changed my style. I now basically watch markets and try and predict what prices are going to go off and drift out.
“I definitely did pick the right degree to complete and to learn from.
“It was more based on being a stockbroker … watching and reading markets … and I think that gave me an edge when turned my strategy from not doing so much form to watching the market movement because there are smart people out there and I was better able to track what was happening.
“It’s been great … particularly as I am working closely with my family.
“I have strong support from my parents and brother. My brother substitutes my license when I’m away. Mum and dad are always giving a hand and coming on a road trip. Dad often holds the bag at the bigger meeting and mum is always there to make sandwiches and pack the snacks to feed the troops.
“They are always available to give me a hand. It’s really good fun working with your family.
“My parents have been massive supporters in my life,” acknowledged Hinkley.”I don’t think it was an easy thing for them when their daughter wanted to be a bookmaker from such an early age.
“I was encouraged by my mother to also have a back-up career, so I did the right thing by them and went to Uni and I think that gave them the reassurance that I was never going to be a lost cause in life … and things I learnt when doing that degree are helping me with my bookmaking job now.
“As I said, it has been great … the only thing is that the business has turned a lot in recent years. It was turning a lot even before I was around.
“The cash has dried up on-course. The professional punters don’t tend to bet on-course as much anymore and the atmosphere has dropped off, but you still get to places like Warrnambool where it still feels all old school and things are going a hundred million miles an hour with people running around the ring backing things and the excitement is there.
“I love the country carnivals. It’s just a really good vibe.
“That’s what I enjoy. That’s what I love.”