Off-course Betting Scheme: May Begin In August

Greymouth Evening Star, 13 June 1950, Page 3

Off-course Betting Scheme: May Begin In August

- -’’Vf • « AUCKLAND, June 12 (P.A.).— A legal system of off-course betting on horse racing and trotting, might be put into practice in August, said the Minister of Internal Affairs, Mr W. A. Bodkin, today. He said he hoped to be able to announce full details for the scheme within a fortnight, in order to give the public an opportunity of studying them, before the necessary legislation was introduced in Parliament. Mr Bodkin said that there were earlier draft proposals, but those had not been approved because they had not given sufficient powers to the corporation which was to be set up to control off-course betting. The representatives of the Racing and Trotting Conferences had agreed to changes, but these changes had yet to be approved by the full conference and the affiliated racing and trotting clubs. He hoped that this approval would be given in time to introduce a bill to the House of Representatives in July. All of the State Departments involved, including the Police, Post and Telegraph, and Taxation Departments, had been consulted, and had given the proposal their approval, he said. Unfortunately,.the Post Office was so overloaded with work that it could not make a very big contribution. This fact had been responsible for a good deal of the difficulty encountered. Mr Bodkin said the Government was determined that the full responsibility for running the scheme should devolve on the Racing and Trotting Conferences. The Government’s job was merely to control and regulate the new system in the same way as it controlled on-course betting. The State would not find any of the capital expenditure, nor would it grant any concession that is not available to an ordinary commercial undertaking. There had been innumerable difficulties in devising a system that would cover the whole of the Dominion, but the conference were satisfied that they could make it a success.