Last week I could not decide which of two topics to cover in today’s column. So I tossed a coin. It landed heads uppermost, which meant writing about gambling. By Friday afternoon, when fellow writers were frowning over their PCs, I was screaming “Come on, Eswarah!” at a TV tuned, for research purposes, to live horseracing.

Lemmy of rock gods Motorhead hit the spot for me when he sang: “I know I’m gonna lose, ‘cos gambling’s for fools.” My occasional flutters have been the byproduct rather than the raison d’être of a day at the races. But many punters are more dedicated and online betting has become a hot area for new businesses. Last Thursday, PartyGaming, a poker website operator, announced a £5bn-plus London float that will make billionaires of its founders. Last month, Global Draw, which operates betting terminals in bookies’ shops, topped a ranking of fast-growth companies compiled in Real Business magazine. Last year, Betfair, an internet betting exchange, won top prize in the CBI’s growing-business contest.