Soccer Bets Of £2½m. On Hotel Play

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30041, 28 January 1963, Page 12

Soccer Bets Of £2½m. On Hotel Play

(N.Z.P.A. -Reuter—Copyright)

LONDON, January 26. Cancelled British football matches, with

bets, of £2,500,000 at stake, were “played” today in a London hotel by a panel of experts.

The major football pools firms, forced to cancel their coupons for five weeks running because of the persistent bad weather, decided on this means of distributing their accumulated stake money. Punters were asked to fill in their forecasts of the results of scheduled matches in the normal way. Then the panel of four footballers and a referee, with the former Government minister and pioneer motorist and airman, Lord Brabazon, decided the most probable results of those games cancelled by the weather. Pools betters had to forecast the results of 52 matches. Only 16 of these were

actually played. The remaining 36 were decided by the panel.

The “phantom" pools have caused some controversy among betters and other members of the public. But one group unlikely to complain is the Leeds United football team and its officiate. Leeds has not won a cup tie (eliminating match for the Football Association's Cup) for 10 years. But today the panel gave them a paper victory. The experts decreed seven draws and five of the matches actually played ended in draws, making a total of 12 draws. It was expected dividends would be good.

Closed For Visit— Most shops in the Auckland metropolitan area will be closed on the morning of February 7 to allow their employees to see the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh on their first day in the city. They will open at noon.—(P.A.)