SUPPRESSING GAMBLING

Evening Star, Issue 12927, 25 September 1906, Page 6

SUPPRESSING GAMBLING

DRASTIC LEGISLATIVE REMEDIES. The New South Wales Assembly recentJy-j passed a Gambling Bill which is spoken .of i as the most effective measure dealing with \ gambling that has ever been devised by that State. A Bfll on similar Tines is now j before the Victorian Parliament. The fol- j lowing are the main provisionsof Sir Samuel Gfllott's drastic measure:— , —Weight-guessing Competitions Barred.— The Act is a measure of seventy-five ( clauses, and under it lotteries are declared i a common nuisance and' unlawful, and every ' sale or gift disposal or distribution by a lottery ia made utterly void. -Raffles for works of art are limited to raffles for paintings or sculpture by the painter or sculptor, and even these may be prohibited by the Attorney-GeneraL There will be grief amongst the guessers who pride themselves on their ability to tell by a glance what is the weight of a beast exhibited at the A. and P. shows and like gatherings, for the weight-guessing competition is prohibited as a lottery. So, too, is the missing word competition and the solving of puzzles or arithmetical problems. —The Doom of Taitersafl's.— Sweepstakes not exceeding £5, and to which the individual stakes do not exceed ss, are permitted, but TattersaH's consulta- ' tions are prohibited by a provision that "no person shall sell or offer for sale, or deliver or give, or buy or pay for, or knowingly receive or accept any ticket or any chance, or any share of any ticket or chance, in any lottery which is wholly or partly established, commenced, carried on, promoted, or managed, or proposed or intended to be established, commenced, carried on, promoted, or managed in Victoria or elsewhere." —Chinese Lotteries.— The Chinaman who condttcts pak-a-poo lotteries, and who has escaped conviction because of inability of the authorities ta prove that a lottery was actually drawn, will cease to be immune now, and his patrons, too, will be no longer safe from prosecution. It is provided that in any proceedings against persons for conducting a lottery or selling or buying a ticket it will be sufficient to show that the ticket was bought or accepted under the belief that it conveyed a right to thepurchaser to an interest in the lottery. The sale of a Chinese lottery ticket, whether marked or otherwise, is made prima facie evidence of the existence, of the lottery,. and it will not be necessary to prove that it belongs to any particular lottery, or that any lottery will be drawn. . Lottery-houses are declared tc be common gaming-houses. —Gaming-house Risks.— Tote or totalisator sheets, double sheets, betting lists or books, cards, etc., are all denned as instruments of gaming. The police are given power to arrest any pereoa found playing or betting by way of wagering or gaming. Persons found in any placs used as a gaming-house, without lawful excuse, will be liable to a fine of £i to £5, and any person who appears, acts, or behaves as master or mistress of a common gaming-house shall be deemed to be the occupier whether he is the real owner or occupier or not. Publication of information as to betting on horse or pony races, as to the probable result of any such race, or the betting odds on it, or as to any totalisatcrs, or unlawful game, is made an offence. Advertising by tipsters or posting up of betting placards is also an offence. The lot of the unoffending proprietor of premises is made easier, for he is given power to evict the occupier of a house used as a common gammg-housc on three days* notice. On an affidavit from an officer of police the Supreme Court may declare a place to be a common gaming-house, and any person then found in such place may be arrested without warrant. Any person who has been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor who may be found in a declared place will be liable to imprisonment for terms ranging from 14 days to 365. "No trade or business of any kind can be carried on in "declared" premises. —Race Meetings and Bookmakers.—

A bnrifcation of race meetings will be effected. No club, association, or person within twenty miles of the General Post Office, Melbourne, may have races on more than sixteen days in one year, and all racecourses must be licensed. Outside this radius the meetings are restricted to twelve days per club. Penalties of not less than £IOO and not more than £6OO are prescribed for breaches.

Tbe provision that will press hardest upon the bookmaker germs is one specifying that, notwithstanding any law to the contrary, any money or valuable thing paid or allowed to any person, by way of gamaDg or wagering, may, in any court of competent jurisdiction, be recovered back from such person within twelve months after such payment, together with full costs of suit, by the person who paid or allowed such money or valuable thing, or his executors or administrators. A special section says that no constable or person acting under instructions from the police shall be an offender or accomplice in the commission of an offence under the Act.