THE GAMING BILL

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 268, 6 August 1920, Page 3

THE GAMING BILL

AND THE TOTALISATOR

STATEMENT BY EX-MINISTER FOB INTERNAL AFFAIRS.' . Interviewed in Christchurch,.tho Hon. G. W. Ruasell made the following statemen^— "I havo noticed with considerable intorest the discussins in Parliament regarding tho ahova matter, and having for four years been Minister in Charge of Racing in the National Government, it will not l>e inappropriate if I place on record , iny views. The Double,Totalisator.

"When in office I was asked by the racing authorities to bring down legislation to legalise tlie double totalisator. I at once point-blank refused, on the ground tha.ii the gambling evil liad already attained 6ucli enormous proportions as to become not only a national danger tut also a national vice. On inquiring whv the clubs,- which were dniiviii" such vast revenues from the totalisator, desired an extension of bettins privileges I wns told totalisator was necessary to extinguish the bookmaker. ' To this I replied—(l) That tlie double totalisator would merely open .to the.bookmaker another avenue for his business, (2) that the law already provided adequate safeguards regarding the bookmaker; (3) that) as to the admii.isi'Jatiun of that law the ncing au thorities should /interview. my colleague the Minister of Justice, the Hon. Mr. Wilford. T still adhere to these Mews. and trust the double toilalisator will Jiot be legalised. > , The Bookmaker. I,

■ "The Gaming Bill is ostensibly and directly intended to earn- out the policy of the racing authorities to 'extinguish the bookmaker.' It is proposed to do this, not on the grounds of. moral principle or public interest, but solely in order to increase She revenues cf the racing clubs. The Hon. Colonel Smith most correctly, said in the Legislative Council he could see no difference between betting on the totalisator and wrth the bookmaker. He was opposed to both. As to the principle, he was absolutely correct. It is Pharisaical humbug and hypocrisy to say that a man may legally invest his last pound, perhaps money he owes to his butcher, baker, or grocer, on iho .totalisator at the racecourse; but that the same man commits a sin against Heaven and ft crime against society and tho law if, being unable .to attend the. races, lie invest his pound with a private individual who is willing to'take his bet exactly as does the totalisator. I havo 'not been a betting man, and two .or three time 3 only in my life I have made beis with bookmakers? and when T visit race meetings I sometimes- exercise my rights as a citizen at the totalisator, generally with not very encouraging results. Probably, my ■ experience is thari of the average man. However, I have always supported the totalisator in the public interest, and because I feel a still greater danger would be created if it were abolished. /I think 'New Zealand swuls pretty well alone in its attitude to the bookmaker. I do not know of any Australian State which has declared him to Tje illegal aa New Zealand has done. He carries on his business at all the great; English race meetings, and during his recent visit to Australia the Prince cf Wales publicly made bets with a bookmaker w.ho was a returned soldier. The proposal to make him in New Zealand a pariah, an outwist, and t'o place the onus probandi oi> aim as an Moused person instead of. on die prosecutors-in plain language, to de- ' :lare him guilty on presumption, and llirow upon him the entire responsibility »f proving his innocence—is a proposal Hint is un-British and unfair, and which absolutely 6hocks the moral senso ol every/fair- and balanced mind. Sweep out the totalisator first. Let the State purge itself of betting and refuse to participate in its profits a.nd then, and only then, can it honestly be declared that private betting is a crime and that both the bookmaker and the investor are criminals. BuW to listen to the tingle of the 'tote' bells on a hundred; race- , courses and then : gaol the private bettor end bookmaker fs the'hollowest of hypocrisy. I hold no 'brief for bookmakers aa, a class. Doubtless there are gocd and bad, honest and. dishonest, bu'j when I; look over the country and see the-pro.; fileering which is rampant iirfood, in clothing, in houses, in land, in -everything, I- ask myself : 'Is the bookmaker; so much" worse than all others, that, in his case alone i!he rights of a-British subject to trial by jury, -and to the presumption of innocence of a charge until guilt is proved, should lie taken away, and all profiteers and other, thioves left as lihey are?'- Those who are setting- up tliis principle and making n chasm between totting with racing clubsnnd with 'bookmakers may well t pause. " Some day there may be a jmrty in power, iu New' Zealand which will apply that, principlo in many new and unexpected directions, for fhe .beginning of legislative injustice and iniquity is like the . letting out of water r it starts with a ■ trickle and may end in Niagara. The Totalisator and the Racing iClubs.'

' "The totalisator -was introduced • in i; 1889, and <£58,519,252 lias gone through I .'the machine d«wn to March 111, 1919. From tho beginning tho clulw deducted; j 10 per cent', profit; after the second. |i year the State, claimed li per cent, of iI the profits, anil in 1910 the State tax. was raised to per cent., at "which it slill stands. Since NovemTier, 1915,: tho Slate ha.? teed all (Jjvidends by'2s per cent, in pound or part of a pound,' and tax of 1 per cent, is charged on. all stakes. These taxes, of oourse, are not paid 'by the clubs. It is, the torhlisatorwhich supports and keeps alive racing.: Members' subscriptions are negligible, and in many cases thoy don't pay for the cost of luncheons provided free to members of clubs and their friends. Nominations and acceptances are probably lower ilium in ojiy other country in.the world.: Let us therefore see the financial pesition of the clubs as shown by official returns' , in order to see whether there is any justification for the extreme effort now being made '.b set aside all British law in order to strengthen their financial position, during .the eight yeaTS ending July 31, 1919 (the racing year: end's on' that date in each year), the amount invested on ithc totalisator was .{35,055,612. On this sum 10 per, cent, would, of course,, be £3,505,5Gi. and the State takes,.£B7(i,39o, leaving -the racing clubs with <£2,629,170- In addition. to this they fix cured the fractions and unpaid divi- . dends. The former I think, writing front . memory, come io about JMO.OOO per year. What; the latter (unpaid dividends) amount to I do not know. I endeavoured to secure "both lJiese sources of revenue for the hospitals, uf the district, but 'was not able to proceed with the Bill I drafted. When the final returns' for the year just clceed are made up it will not be surprising to me if the total investments for the year show In tha,*/ case the racing clubs will have drawn £',>25,C00 from the totalisator plus about.<£lso,ooo from gate money, licenses, etc.—in Ground terms J0075,000 from the public—for the year without a copper directly paid in membors' subseripTons, owners' nominations, etc. How different from the pre-totalisator days, when racing was .a real sport, a'.td not a huge business. Can. it bo said that jv spurt thus completely financed by State assist- i ance is in such a pecuniary position as ■to need to ask Parliament to Jegislato so. as to compel every man in New Zealand who wishes to back his fancy or his judgment, to put his money through the totalisator for .the financial benefit oi tho clubs? Further, and finally, instead of seeking to steady the gambling mania, it is proposed to throw the Post Office and Telegraph Office open to disftant bettois provided they send their bets to tho rnciug clubs! What more need be said? Inspectors of Totalissrtors. ' "In some respects the totlalisatfcu' was in days past looeely controlled by some of the clubs, especially in country districts. Two or three years ago the president of one of tho large clubs informed mo that . information had reached his club that a certain man had erideavuaml to get a cheque for .£2OO Into tho totalisator house to be put on a horeo "if ho won." The club in question endeavoured to follow up tfhe matter, but it could not place tho onus probandi on tho alleged culprit, and presume his guilt until ne proved his innocence, no action could be taken. The fact 'ifliat euoh an incident was ever-pos-sible oaused the iminediito appointment of the Government inspectors of total-

isators, and now no race pan be started until she inspector ut every meeting lias verified tlio investment*. This reform was strongly criticised by certain clubs at the time, but it was in the public interest! and has given the public confidence. It has also resulted in a Jorge increase of investments on tho machine. Increase of Permits. "As the totalisator is the only means of legal betting'l consider ;fce increase proposed in' Mr. Hunter's Bill necessary and just: (J) In order to satisfy the needs of the "rowing n.nd popular sport of trotting; (2). to remove the ■iniiisvico under which Tarnnaki suiters in haying only, half the number of permits given to Ilawke's Bay though the populations aro practically equal; (3) to enable per-, niits fo be given to now and prosperous districts like Eltham, which are now unable. to obtain them. In pome oases decaying districts may be asked to surrender'their permits, but all tlio principal racing centres aro fully supplied with permits, and some have more than aro necessary."—Published by arrangement,