ILLEGAL BETTING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVII, Issue 17649, 9 December 1920, Page 6

ILLEGAL BETTING.

BAN ON THE BOOKMAKER.

STATEMENT BY MINISTER.

WARNING TO SPORTING MEN. [BY TELEGRArH.— own CORRESPONDENT.] WELLINGTON. Wednesday. The search for bookmakers in New Zealand is continuing. The police may be assumed to possess some clues as to the whereabouts of the followers of an occupation that Parliament has declared to be unlawful, but it is not at all clear that the amended law has yet restricted betting severely. A reporter who made some inquiries on the subject to-day had no difficulty at all in discovering that bookmakers were still doing business in Wellington, although he was informed that they were cautious' about dealing with new customers. Some weeks ago the telephones of bookmakers and reputed bookmakers in Wellington were cut off. The connections were restored within a few hours, and the official explanation was that a subordinate officer had acted prematurely. It does not appear that any further step has been taken by the Postal Department. The regulations provide that bookmakers shall not be allowed to use telephones, and the' inference is that the department is not aware officially that the regulations are being broken. There is a difference between "knowledge" and "official knowledge."

The Minister for Justice, Hon. E. P. Lee, said to-day that he was aware unlawful betting had not stopped, although he thought that its volume had been reduced. The Government certainly was in earnest in the enforcement of the law, and he pointed out that the Gaming Amendment Act of last session provided penalties for the men who bet with bookmakers as well as for the bookmakers themselves. He would be sorry to see any of New Zealand's sporting men go to gaol, but the law was there to be observed, and it might be necessary to provide an example.

"I think most of the betting men will agree with me that the racecourses provide all the facilities for gambling that we require in this country," said Mr. Lee. "It is not in the public interest that young men in offices and factories should be crowding after bookmakers on working days and spending money and time on race meetings all over the Dominion. I am one of those who enjoy races, but I think Parliament was well advised when it decided that betting should be confined to the racecourses."

The Minister addressed a. conference of senior police officers in Wellington this morning. The conference had been considering questions of organisation and administration as well as matters connected with the enforcement of some of the new laws.