BANNED SWEEPS PROSPER

Dominion, Volume 27, Issue 252, 21 July 1934, Page 18

BANNED SWEEPS PROSPER

Crop of Derby Lotteries

Eight million pounds! That was the vast amount of money invested in sweepstake tickets for the recent Derby, end that is in spite of the ban which makes dealing in lottery tickets in Britain illegal. Information which lias been collected by the “Sunday Chronicle” from the headquarters of the various sweepstakes, and from hundreds of private sources, proves conclusively that the amount of money involved in tills year’s Derby is far larger than ever before. Not only is more money flowing into the larger lotteries, but every little club and association in the country Is running its own private sweep as well. Many who have never organised a sweep before are handling hundreds of pounds subscribed by members. An ofilcial of the Irish Hospltajs Trust tiold the “Sunday Chronicle” that the increased interest in the sweepstake tills year had been overwhelming. “During the last few days,” he said, “the flow of counterfoils has been so greati that the day of mixing has had to be'postponed. ?

“Nearly 4000 girls have been working 14 or 15 hours a day in order to cope with the last-minute rush. Our total receipts will probably be in the neighbourhood of £4,000,000.” In addition to the Irish Sweep there are the Calcutta Sweep, totalling £105,000, a new sweep "with headquarters in Rome, which last year ran into seven figures, the Stock Exchange Sweep of £30,000, and the Baltic Sweep. Countless smaller draws In factories, offices, and clubs all over the country total many more millions. One private factory alone has £lOOO in prize money. < Even in the Home Office, whose duty it is to frown on sweeps, a draw on the Derby is organised in support of a ’ sports club. Police action in Britain against the trade in tickets has been on, a smaller scale than hitherto. An official of the Home office explained that they could only act on information supplied by the police, and that the methods now employed by ticket smugglers are so elaborate that only a very small proportion are detected.