FOOTBALL RESULTS.

Press, Volume LXV, Issue 19545, 15 February 1929, Page 15

FOOTBALL RESULTS.

BILL TO LEGALISE FORECASTS. (UWITED PKXU üßoaunam—«T tLicrmje TZLBG UPH—CO PTBIGBT ) LONDON'. February 13. In the House of Commons Major Braithw&ite introduced a Bill to permit newspaper competitions forecasting football results. The Bill prohibited entrance fees, and made it illegal for any one to submit more than one entrv in each competition. The latter will prevent claims to fictitious circular tions. The Bill passed its first readme Australian Frees Association, United Service. [A case in wLich the "Sheffield Telegraph '' was convicted for printing and circulating a football forecast competition caused grave concern to many leading newspapers in Britain. As a result of the "Telegraph's" appeal being dismissed, the newspapers decided |to cease such competitions. It was stated that the circulation figores of many newspaper' would fall consider ably as a result. The most popular form of competition was that requiring the reader to forecast correctly 24 results out of 44 printed on a coupon. Despite the tremendous odd* :i f Cr^: prize of £20,000 was jointly off' r * iV three papers and thrice won r>u*. many smaller prizes amounting to £IO,OOO weekly being distributed. During the hearing of the appeal it waa pointed out that, assuming £4 matches had to be correctly forecasted out of 44, it would be necessary to submit approximately 282.000,000,000 forecasts to be certain "of obtaining the correct results. The principal argument affecting the Court was that many people paid for the coupons, not the papers, and therefore it was gambling.]