Article: Dividend: possible jackpot: the football pools looked to be in terminal decline until Sportech began to consolidate the market. Dominic Walsh looks at the future of the concept.(Insight: Behind the headlines)

The mere mention of the Pools Panel is enough to make me mistyeyed. It conjures up memories from my youth of sitting in front of the television, snow six inches deep outside the window, desperately hoping for the line "home win" to be announced as the presenter got to the postponed match at Stamford Bridge. My anticipation was completely irrational, of course, as neither I nor my family ever actually played the football pools. But my behaviour shows just how integral the pools--especially the beloved Pools Panel--once was in British society.

It is a remarkable statistic, but in its heyday a third of the population--a staggering 10m people--played the football ...

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