'The demise of the Bookie' is not the fault of the Bookie, but the punters who deserted them in increasing droves when the TAB opened for business.

Mostly, no longer can they lay a fair book because for them to do that they need punter volume which we increasingly denied them.

The pokie industry and sports betting lost them even more punters and the racetracks didn't help by jumping on that profit bandwagon, opening shop at the racetrack and competing for the race day betting dollar, which was once wagered with the bookie.

Most bookies are decent guys and mostly battlers too, with only a select few making big bucks.
Sure they realize they could compete with the tote by offering better or equal odds [their not idiots], but they also realize that because of the new punting paradigm above that now exists, seriously competing with the tote would put them in the dole queue quick smart !