LICENSING QUESTION

Evening Post, Volume CXX, Issue 9, 10 July 1935, Page 13

LICENSING QUESTION

RIGHT CLASS WANTED

"If it were possible to guarantee that the right class of operators was available, it might be that the licensing of bookmakers would assist the sport; otherwise it would be a. detriment, and a policy which deals only with immediate benefits cannot be successful," said \Mr. H. F. Nicoll in his presidential address to the New Zealand Trotting Conference today. ■ Mr. Nicoll said that a movement was again being initiated to license bookmakers. "There are sound arguments," he said, "against the suggestion, and'there are some in its favour. Many clubs today are in such distress that they are eager to grasp any policy which may possibly alleviate their position. With a knowledge of all the ramifications, of the bookmakers' busi- : ness, one could not agree to their presence on a racecourse unless there were adequate safeguards and the personnel of the bookmakers themselves were rigidly supervised. Whether, in a small community such as the Dominion contains, the superior class of men such as those who operate in Great Britain and elsewhere are within reach, is a .very doubtful question. . . . The executive has not discussed this subject so far, and a slow approach to the problem must be the wisest course. What is the most practical form of assistance to clubs is our constant thought, and you can rely that we shall not sit down quietly to watch them, one after another, closing down, under the pressure of existing adverse circumstances."