BETS ON A DOUBLE CHART

Hawera Star, Volume LIV, 17 January 1935, Page 10

BETS ON A DOUBLE CHART

FINE FOR. STRATFORD MAN. PRACTICE AS A BOOKMAKER. Two bets on a double chart and 5s on a straight out bet from a plain clothes constable were admitted <by J' ceil Collins in the Stratford Magistrate s Court yesterdav when he appeared before Mr W. H. Woodward, S.M.

On December 5. said Detective Meiklejohn, a constable in plain clothes who was sent to Stratford saw Collins produce a double chart in a billiard room. The constable then laid two double bets, Lord Mou.toa and Tout le Monde, and Sir Spear and. Sliced, at the Woodville races on December 8. On December 7 the constable saw him again and laid a straight-out bet of ss. The double bets were offered at odds of 50 to 1, or £2 10s to Is. When on December 29 the sergeant and Constable Hughes went out to execute a warrant on Collins and he was taken into custody, no betting material was Pound on him, stated the detective. Collins was quite candid about the matter, admitting the two bets with the officer. A search of his room revealed books and double charts dating back for over 12 months. The number of books in his possession showed the amount of betting he had been doing. In the back of one book a number of straight-out bets were recorded. When arrested Collins declared that he did not do any straightout betting, but confined himself to double betting.

The harmlessness of the doublechart system of hotting was stressed by Mr Rutherfurd in Iris defence. It was the most harmless form of gambling it was possible to imagine. The total outlay of the better was a shilling so that if be lost little damage was done. It was a very different tiling from bookmaking in the usual sense of the word, which implied a system which led bettors to plunge heavily to retrieve their losses, for instance. Double chart betting was no more nefarious than the practice ot betting at the totalisator at a racecourse.

Mr Rutherfurd drew the attention of the magistrate to the differences between this case and that with which lie had dealt recently at New .Plymouth in which a barman was involved. Collins ditl not have the same opportunities as a barman to carry on the practice, be said, and certainly did not take bets on anything like as large a scale. Collins had always been respected at Stratford and bad a. good name. This was bis first offence.

Evidence as to his knowledge of Collins’ character was given by Mr J. W. JcMillnn. Collins bad always borne an excellent character and had all his life been an excellent citizen. He came of a hard-working family and had never so far as witness knew, been in trouble before.

There wa.s a good deal of distinction between this case and the one he had dealt with at New Plymouth, said the magistrate in giving his decision. The police could point to only two straightout bets and it had been argued by accused's counsel, with some degree of truth, that Collins might hardly be said to carry on the business of a bookmaker at all. However, he had obviously made a business of it, and although lie had confined himself principally to betting on doubles, there was a considerable number of straightout bets recorded at the back of the books produced. In consideration of the fact that Collins was a first offender he would make the fine £2O.