Found this.. http://www.oxforddnb.com/templates/article.jsp?articleid=92885&back=
Banks, John (1934–2003), bookmaker, was born John Boyle on 19 August 1934 at 62 Dover Street, Anderston, Glasgow, the son of Hugh Boyle, window cleaner, and his wife, Rachel Williamson, née Brown. As a child he took his father's bets to the local (illegal) bookmaker and on leaving Woodside senior secondary school aged fifteen he first became a bookmaker's runner, earning commission on the bets from the local factory workers, before being elevated to the position of the clerk who registered the wagers. He was quick to pick up the basics of turf accounting and entered the profession himself at an unlicensed dog track, but his bank of £200 was wiped out within two months. Supported by small loans from his father, he moved to making a book at Mount Vernon, a licensed greyhound track in Glasgow, and then at Hamilton Park racecourse. About this time he began using the trade name of John Banks.