8 new permits announced

Press, 30 October 1981, Page 19

8 new permits announced

PA I Wellington Facing clubs will have mote totalisator meeting licaices, the Government has announced.

The galloping code gains foir more full totalisator licmces (both off-course and on-course betting), giving it a total of 323 each year, the Minister of Internal Affairs, Mr Highet, said in a statemmt.

Trotting will also get four extra full licences, making a total of 196 for trotting meeting! each year. 13 addition, one extra restricted totalisator licence (foi; on-course betting only) has- been approved, for the Eastern Bay of Plenty Turf Glut’s Te Teko meeting. T)e conferences have allocate the additional eight full j licences to Auckland Mt Highet said it is hard to nake a case for more licences, except in the Auckland (area. where turnover and attendance figures have tendei to be “rather more buoysht" than in some other

parts of the country. Although the Auckland area has 27 per cent of the country's population, it has had only 15 per cent of the total number of licences available to galloping clubs, and 16.6 per cent of those authorised for use by trotting clubs.

The Government has also approved a minimum 30 licences permitting the continuance of both off-course as well as on-course betting on greyhound races in the 1982-83 and subsequent racing years. Mr Highet explained that special provision was included in the 1980 amendment to the Racing Act to enable greyhound racing to operate off-course betting on 30 meetings in the current racing season. Greyhound racing will now be able to depend on having at least that number of offcourse betting opportunities in subsequent years as well as 50 licences per season restricted to on-course betting only, he said.