Commission’s Hopes Thought Illusory

Northern Advocate, 8 January 1948, Page 3

Commission’s Hopes Thought Illusory

WELLINGTON, Thu. (P.A.).— “The Gaming Commission’s recommendation of a scheme for off-course betting, whereby the country would be covered by a network of totalisator offices, is one that many members ot the ’ Church of England will view with the utmost apprehension,’’said Dr J. Nicol, secretary of the public and social affairs of the Church of England, in a statement on behalf of the committee.

“The commission clearly hopes that such a measure, coupled with the introduction of a doubles totalisator, would strike a blow at the bookmakers and deprive them of a substantial share of their illegal business,” he added. “We regard this optimistic hope as almost certain to prove illusory and feel that if the legal facilities for betting are übiquitous, open, and accessible to young and old, the total volume of betting, lawful and unlawful, will be greater than before. CHURCH AND GAMBLING

“From the evidence before it, and from the fact that the Church of England has not specifically condemned gambling as sinful, the commission deduces that the Church regards moderate gambling as permissible. “Actually the matter has not been considered by the Church in a formal way and individual members differ in their opinions. “Few members would question the view that gambling in New Zealand has been carried far beyond the bounds of moderation.

“We welcome the commission’s disapproval of credit betting, its criticism of the ‘supine inactivity’ on the part of the Post and Telegraph Department in regard to bookmaker’s telephones, its strictures on racing administrators for their complacency towards owners and trainers who bet illegally with bookmakers to keep totalisator odds from falling, its advocacy of improved facilities on racecourses for the public and for jockeys, its refusal to advocate state lotteries or the deliberate fostering of gambling by the state, and its recommendation that no permits be granted foi dog racing. GREATEST DISAPPOINTMENT “The setting up of a racing advisory board would seem to be in the public interest.

“We doubt the advisability of publishing and of broadcasting additional racing information, such as dividends. “It seems to us that more publicity will breed more gambling. “But, our source of keenest disappointment is simply the advocacy in the report of off-course betting on the grand scale.”