BETTING TRANSACTIONS

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 7 November 1925, Page 7

BETTING TRANSACTIONS

ENGLISH CONTROVERSY.

CLERIC V. BOOKMAKER.

AN INTERESTING STATEMENT. BY CABLE—PBESS ASSOCIATION—COPYRIGHT. (Received Nov. 7, 10.35 a.m.) LONDON, Nov. 6. Canon Peter Green, of Manchester, was the central figure in an interesting betting controversy. The Rev. Mr Green asserted that British bookmakers take £170,000,000 annually from bettors’ pockets. Lionel Phillips, a well-known London bookmaker, promptly denied this, and he offered to give £IOO to charity if Canon Green could substantiate his statement. Both parties have now agreed to put their evidence before a chartered accountant and to accept his decision.

Canon Green commenced by showing that the total number of bookmakers in Britain were 16,000, and the income tax authorities, after inspecting the books of 1731 credit bookmakers, found theii; net profits to be £1,042,000, which was only 3.4 per cent of the gross fro fits, so the gross profits of the 1731 ookmakers were £30,647,000. He asks: “What do the remaining 14,268 bookmakers make? If they only average 60s per week the total comes to £65,000,000, making the total gross profits £96,000,000, but it is impossible to believe that 60s per week were the real profits. As inland revenue officials estimate the gross betting turnover at £417,000,000 annually, the probable average of net income for each bookmaker would be from £600,000 to £700,000. —A. and N.Z. Assn.