THE ANTI-GAMBLING BILLS.

Auckland Star, Volume XLI, Issue 166, 15 July 1910, Page 4

THE ANTI-GAMBLING BILLS.

Considering that Government had already promised to introduce legislation dealing with the gambling evfl, there is very little to be said for the attempt' made by the Opposition to forestaU the Premier by bringing in a bfll to suppress the bookmaker. The House showed what it thought of these tactics by adjourning, and thus throwing out Mr. Newman's bin promptly; but the incident attordeu the Premier an opportunity of indicating the lines that the promised legislation wiU probably take. 'Sir Joseph Ward is apparently prepared not only to reverse the Act of 1307, -which gave the .bookmaker a legal status, but he is ready to carry the argument against the public toleration of gambling to its logical conclusion by sweeping away the totalisator as weiL For further details we must wait till the projected .bills are .before the Honse; but we gather from the Premier's remarks that he ie prepared to submit alternative schemes for the abolition of the "tote" and the "bookie," along with a suggestion to reduce the number of totalisator .permits and race meetings. It is possible to interpret Sir Joseph's remarks in such a way as to conclude that the -whole question may yet be put before the people by means of a, referendum. For the present however, we are glad to learn that Government is prepared to take the only consistent and logical course open to- it, and abolish the totalisator as well as the bookmaker if the country requires ft. Without going into the comparative merits of the two systems, we may fairly say that they are both responsible for the spread of gambling, and most of the arguments used so freely against the bookmaker apply to the " machine" equally well. We ha-ve always maintained that a Government which proposes to put down gambling by legislation has no moral or logical right to draw any part of its revenue from such a source, and therefore we have advocated the aboUtion of the " totalisator." At the same time we are weH aware that most of the racing clubs have based their financial arrangements and investments on the assumption that the "machine" had ''come to stay"; and therefore we can see some force in the argument that if the " machine" is to go, it would bo equitable to reduce the number of permits gradually, and thus "break the fall" for the numerous sporting and financial interests that have grown up around it