also: のみや
Refers to an illegal or underground bookmaker, especially for horse racing or other gambling. The term comes from the image of a small-time operator (ノミ = flea).
He ran an illegal bookmaking operation for horse racing.
bucket shop; trader performing bucketing
In stock market context, a broker who takes the opposite side of a customer's trade instead of executing it on the market, or the shop itself. Related to ノミ行為.
See also: ノミ行為 (ノミこうい)
That securities firm was exposed as a bucket shop.
Kanji spelling using 呑む (to drink), but the katakana form is far more common in modern usage.
ノミ is associated with 呑む, “to swallow”: a bookmaker or broker accepts an order without passing it on through the regular market or betting channel. 屋 denotes a person or business engaged in the practice.