THE GAMING ACT.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 69, 14 December 1907, Page 6

THE GAMING ACT.

POSITION- OF THE .BOOKMAKERS. [BT TEUEGIur-H.—FEESS ASSOCIATION.] • Palmerston North, December 13. The. following are.-the conditions .'under which tho committee of "the Mnnnwatu Racing Club is prepared to issue. licenses to bookmakers to. ply their .'trade-on the Alanawatu race courso during the fnrtbtcohiing Christmas meeting :---(i) ; Applications for thiV issue of a .bookmakerV'liceiiso iniiist he in writing, and in the hands of the Secretary, not later than noon of'.Thursday, December 10. The application.may be..,fpr',oDe, two,-or-.three days, and mnsf be,,.aceompanicd hy. a cash-deposit of (2) Every,.application shall be accompanied by>'. documentary evidence as to the general and, financial fitness of the applicant to :hold'.'such license. The committee reserves the. right to .'ask .for additional evidence, or to refuse! the/application' if the' evidence tendered.-appears, to bo,' insufficient. (3) • The fee payable for a license shall he £20. per diem, .payable .upon the issue of the license.; A person .applying for a license for more' than one. day can! secure the same upon payment.of £20, but the license shall be totally inoperative- for a second or third day until it?is endorsed with a receipt by the. Secretary for further payments of £20 each.:'.in resp'ect-'i of each such days'. (4) Each' bookmaker shall be entitled 'to have a clerk'ini" attendance upon him at' the racecourse-, upon- pay--merit of a fee. of £5 per diem'/' No ..person who has ever acted- as:.' a /bookmakershall be eligible to act' '"as.-••:"clerk. No clerk shall act as a bookmaker or as the agent of a bookmaker in- laying-wagers, eal-. ling the odds, or transacting'the. business of a bookmaker, other than purely clerical work. (5) No holder of a. bookmaker's license shall carry on his calling; as a bookmaker except' upon .that portion'of the racecourse specially set aside''for .that'-purpose,-, and in respect-of-which ho is specially licensed, provided that such portion 'of the' race--course" shall give reasonable/ facilities for communication with both the' public l in the saddling paddock arid, the public ih^the-out--sido enclosures.' (6)' No' bookmaker' shall he allowed upon . the lawn -or ' gfandstalid. enclosures, and no bookmaker shall' call the odds' or transact". any' betting business outside the enclosures set.,-apart:. for that purpose. (7). No-bookmaker shall', make, any bet on any race after • the closing of the totalisator for that ..race,'. (8)., No bookniaker shall lay any wager in contravention of Section 4 of the' Gaming Act"; 1894,? ; a'nd:in particular no bookmaker- shall •lay., ( ttqtalisator ,odds. (9) Any bookmaker, or :the : ; clerk : of any bookmaker who shall ibe-.-prov.ed- to 'the: satisfaction ■of the stewards:! r to have'committed any breach of theseiconditi'onsj-or of the Gaming and Lotteries .Act,;or. to have been guilty of a corrupt, practice within,tho meaning of the rules of--racing;, or.'to have committed'any'breach''of the. rules-of. racing, shalbe liable to have his bookmaker's license cancelled, and' in the eyqnt. thereof, he. 'shall-not be entitled to -a, refniid.-of any. portion .of, his license fee,., and.'.in'" .addition thereto shall. be liable to be- expelled from tho racecourse: i (10) Every bookmaker and the clerk of-every bookmaker):shall wear, a distinction badge.- (11) Every ( . bookmaker, shall, whenever called upon so. to do, bv any official of the Club duly, authorised, by .the Committee, .'produce, his bookmaker's license for inspection.

Auckland, December 12. : The conditions .imposed by- Auckland Racing Club concerning l the'issue 6? licenses to bookmakers at the summer was discussed at a meeting of.the Auckland Bookmakers' Association: Asa result ;the following, telegram was-despatched t-6' tbe ; AttorneyGeneral :—''■ A deputation 'of/bookmaker's waited on the 'Auckland Racing' Club 'lastnight;'the committee of which- expressed.its intention of dealing fairly with bookmakers'. To our surprise the Club has framed conditions which, it is -impossible to comply with, and several of which we are legally, advised are beyond-the, power of'the:' committee to enforce.; The,bookmakers , are.-, anxious. to avoid any unpleasantness. ;or. anything pertaining to' disorder at the'-forthcoming meeting, and'ask yoiii" intervention'towards the accomplishment of this' desirable' end. A clerk is charged :£o. and' a small strip of ground is set apart only for betting. A bookmaker under the Club's rule fi will probably have to cease betting ten minutes before the time specified in-the : Act." ; - -':. ■• The. following reply, has been received from Dr. Findlay: ".1 have.wired the-secretary of the Auckland Racing Club informing him'the purport nf your telegram,'asking for a.replv. 1 Will wire you later:"

.-Auckland, December 13.... A deputation of leading Auckland bookmakers torday waited upon the committee of the Auckland- Racing; Club to' make- certainrequests., in connection with the recent decisions of the Club as to their control. These were placed before.the committee by Mr. W. E Hackett, who acted as spokesman for'the deputation, and were as follows:—(1) That the charge, for bookmakers' clerks. (£5) should be absolutely abolished. ' ".{2J" That the Club should grade bookmaker's,- : charging £20 for those- desiring to bet in the' paddock and £10 for those betting outside.' (3) That the restrictions on : double betting and place betting on the course should be abolished,] seeing that the-Act does not restrict. these practices,, though the Club's' (4) That the condition making it'obligatory upon, bookmakers to stop betting at the same time as the totalisator should he abolished, seeing' that the Act allows both L-ne! bookmaker.'to betright up to the.advertised time for starting.- (5) Thp't the Club should issue licenses to bookmarkers as soon' as possible, in order to let them know what position they will be in. The committee, having deliberated on the requests of-the deputation, decided to abolish the £5 fee for.-bookmakers!-clorks, arid to strike out the clause regarding double books.-- •...:..

• Whangarei, December 13. . The Whangarei Racing Club has decided to issue-bookmakers' licenses, at a fee of £10 oach-por day, and clerks'' J ]ic6nses'£2 10s. per day, for the summer meeting on .January 10 and IL. ' ' ' - . .

Dargavllle, December 13. . The secretary of the -Kaihu.Hack Racing Club has; received the.following telogram from the Premier:—"Hack and pony races are horse races within, the .-Act, and-it is -legal.'for the.stewards of.such a meeting to license bookmakers under the AAt,' if; there is a totalisator permit to, such'-meetings.' If there, is. not a., totalisator permit, • under Section 34 of the Act, the stewar.ds'cairadmit •or'exclude bookmakers'just as' they think fit." ■ -" ■' ' '•.. >■:■■■ Dunedin, December 12. ' ■ At. a meeting of the commlttoo' of' the Dunedin Jockey. Club to-day; it 1 was. decided to license bookmakers at a fee of £20 per day for the summer meeting, one clerk to bo allowed for each bookmaker, provided'>suchclerk was not a "bookmaker ■ himself; no bookmaker or clerk to be allowed on' 'ho grand stand- or 'lawnj and no bookmaker's clerk to be. allowed to call fhcodds and bookmakers to restrict betting to. tho • place. set aside for the purpose. >