No Increase In Lottery Tickets For Country

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29799, 16 April 1962, Page 8

No Increase In Lottery Tickets For Country

(Naw Zealand Press Association)

AUCKLAND. April 14. It is not practicable for the Golden Kiwi lottery organisers to increase the proportion of tickets available for sale in country areas, the Minister of Internal Affairs I (Mr Gotz) said in Auckland today To do so would only increase the shortage in the city areas. There were probably half a million persons wanting to buy in each lottery, said Mr Gotz. but only half that number of tickets were available. The only solution was to increase the number of lotteries so that two or three were drawn each week, he said. In that way the total number of tickets reaching the country areas would increase.

The problem in any move to accelerate the rate oi drawing was the time it took to get tickets to and from country areas, said Mr Gotz. As an experiment, batches of tickets for three consecutive lotteries had been sent to some areas. But the resellers had failed, in some cases, to sell the tickets progressively. Butts for a later lottery would be returned before those for an earlier lottery. This meant a hold-up all round. Now the tickets would be sent out for two lotteries at a time. Mr Gotz said he opposed

the centralised selling syi- < tern adopted by Tatteraalls in | Australia. Under that system a person could not specify in i which lottery he would buy • a ticket. Also under that 4 system the price of tickets * would rise or the amount cf • prize money would drop because of bigger adrainistra- . tive cost he Mid Asked why the number of j tickets and the prize-money 4 in each lottery was not increased. Mr Gotz said he wanted to keep the odds in line with Taltersalls. “However, as I’ve said < before, the whole system will be reviewed after six t months’ operation." said Mr Gotz.