TROTTING AFFAIRS

Northern Advocate, 10 July 1935, Page 2

TROTTING AFFAIRS

NEW ZEALAND CONFERENCE j . i ' i BOOKMAKER QUESTION. j : f V ': : ' ■ i i . GAMING ACT AMENDMENT. | i; . I DOUBLfe “TOTE” PROPOSAL. Matters relating to betting, chief of which was the movement to relicense bookmakers, the proposed amendment to the Gaming Act and win and place betting, Were dealt with by the presi'•dent of the New Zealand Trotting Conference, Mr H.. F. Nicoll, at the annual meeting this morning. _; _ •* ' Regarding bookmakers, Mr Nice,ll ’said that'a movement was again being initiated to. license them There were sound arguments against the sugges ..tidn and :iEbere"'Wefe'|6m:6 , ; ? in favour. Many clubs tbday were in such distress ■ that they were eagdr. to grasp any - policy which mighi possibly alleviate their position. With a knowledge of all -the ramifications of the bookmaker 'business, one could not agree to then presence -oh a racecourse unless there were adequate safeguards and the personnel of the bookmakers themselves ; W ere rigidly supervised. Whether, in fa small community such as the Dominion contained, the superior class of •men, such as those who in *Great Britain dhd elsewhere, was within reach, was a very doubtful questien. ’lf it were possible to guarantee that |the right class of operators was available it. might be that the’ licensing qf Bookmakers would assist the sport; KtherWise; it would be a. detriment, and E’ policy which dealt only with ittimeIpiate benefits could not be successful; Iphe must see the landscape and have ■ ? an horizon. The executive, he added, 'had not discussed the subject so far, • and a slow approach to the problem imust be the wisest course. What was : the most practical form of assistance to clubs was the constant thought of (the executive, add clubs could rely ‘that the - executive would not sit "d'owh \ quietly, to watch them, one Rafter Unotherr: doping down under the Jpressiire of existing adverse circumstdnc6is< (j ~ In connection .With''the Gaming Bill, that Was bfpught before Parliattient last session, Mr Nicbll said- that When Parliament adjourned for the Christmas vacation the Htirrle Minister announced ’ that a further opportunity ■•would') be given the House of discussing th&tlahiing Bill, Which had already passed tfiO Legislative Council, having been Introduced there by the Hon. Eliot R. Davis. Thie Bill sought to remove the prohibition of, the use of the double totalisatoi and the restriction dn the publication of- dividends. It was contended that if ; these became law the Government (would ’ receive substantial additional revenue, the clubs’(financial; position would be considerably relieved, and some clubs saved i from extinction; moreover, a large .volume of illegal betting would be diminished. The restrictions placed -uport the sport in NeW Zealand were not obtainable in any other British country end those opposing A- 16 facilities tliey asked for, Were Unable to sustain any sound argument as to why they should hot -be allowed. The executive hoped to see the Bill become law this year. , Since the new rule was passed by the conference authorising clubs to vary their system- of totalisator dividends, several schemes had been experimented with, and today they found there Werb four or five, different methods in ’opbiUiiOh. this Was not for, the general gddd, but as they were still in a sthte-bf'evolution in this respect, the executive agfebd to leave the subject open for anbtHSf' 'year before asking the conference to decide as to the system’ to be adhered tq, EXTRA PERMIT SOUGHT. action criticised. TSveclat to *' Northern Advocate .” 3 ■. . T . WELLINGTON, This Day- : The action of a trotting club in tgbr ing to the Minister of Internal Affaiis for an extra permit was severely criticised by the president -0f..-the New Zealand Trotting Conference, Mr H. F. Nicoll, at the annual meeting of delegates this morning'. " “Recently,” he said, “it came as a surprise to the executive to discover that the officials of a club were endeavouring to obtain an extra day s 'racing by . making direct application to the Minister of Internal Affairs, over the head of the executive, and also by procuring their local member of the H° use of Representatives to use his influence with the Minister in the same direction. This was serious enough,, endeavouring to bring political pressure to bear upon internal managetnerit of our affairs, but in this case the business was even more astonishing, as‘the club’s letter-to the Minister made grave allegations against your executive, of favouritism and lack of ‘consideration for the claims of the club fin question. The Minister was naturally disquieted at the direct charges preferred against your management, and made careful inquiry into ttie position, personally and through his departmental officers, with the result that he was satisfied the charges made were-entirely groundless, and he iagreed to the recommendation v)hich had already been made by your executive,’ for the allocation of the bpare permit. Ido not suggest that we are infallible, but we declare that wo We do and decide upon, according to our judgment, will be best for the sport asi a ; whole.”