BETTING FINE

Grey River Argus, 16 April 1925, Page 7

BETTING FINE

AT DUNEDIN. DUNEDIN April 1.5. A fine of £35 was imposed on John Murdoch on a charge of using his house as a common gaining house.. Detective Beer said that when the detectives entered the premises at 1.15 p.m. on Monday, defendant was in a small sitting Toom beside a telephone. There were cards there also, showing acceptances for races at Auckland, Feilding, Riverton and Christchurch. Tn addition to these the detectives found a slip on which there was a note of all the betting done that day. the amounts totalling £75 5/-. While the detectives were there (this was for loss than an hour), they took bets ever the telephone amounting to more than £22. Apart from those, there were quite a number of people who rang up apparently to make bets, but who, 1 hiey failed fo recognise the voice, became suspicious and refused ; to state their business. Mr Neill, for the dofandant, said that Murdoch was not one of the big men in the game. The amount mentioned (£76) might appear a large one, but it must be remembered that there wore race meetings all over New Zealand on Easter Monday. The racing fraternity in Dunedin wore penalised at Easter, there being no mooting to engage their attention within fifty miles of the city, and no facilities for betting, except through bookmakers. The Magistrate: Do you put that ns an oxcuso, Mr Neill?—-No sir. but simply to show the amount taken that dav was excessive, and no indication of what the defendant’s regular roiurn< were. Counsel went on to say that it was a roeognised thing for a bookmaker in Dunedin to write more business < r Easter Monday than on any other dav. Tl was the small men. ho added, tlmt wore always brought before the Court in the ‘ ( cleaning-up process,’’ the big men invariablv bore a charmed li’o. Detective Boor agreed that the defendant did not come out on to ih.o streets to bet. He did all his business through the ’phone. The detective would not agree, however, Hint (ho defendant was a small man. The figures quoted as return- for one /my were by no means small. A fine of £35 was imposed.