MONEY ON TOTALISATOR.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVIII, Issue 17843, 26 July 1921, Page 5

MONEY ON TOTALISATOR.

QUESTION OF LIABILITY. [BY TELEGRAPH. —OWN CORRESPONDENT.] MOEJIINSVILLE, Monday. An interesting case was heard in the Morrinsville Magistrate's Court, before Mr. J. H. Salmond, S.M., when William Hufh Milliken, retired farmer, Morrinsville (Mr. C H. McKay), sought to recover from Leslie Boles, draper, To Aroha (Mr. R. E. McGregor), the sum of £50. Evidence was given by the plaintiff thart. defendant, who owned the horse Tamaroa, asked him, as a favour, to put £50 through the totalisator on Tamaroa at the Avondale races on September 25 last. Plain tift did so, and the horsß won. Defendant, he said, again asked him to put £50 on Tamaroa at the meeting on September 29. On this occasion the horse came second, but paid a dividend. He paid the amount due to Boles. On October 12, the day before the Whangarei meeting at Avondale, defendant asked him to again put £50 on Tamaroa. He did so. and the horse came fourth. He then claimed the £50 from Boles, but the latter repudiated liability stating that he did not give information away about his horse for nothing, and that the £50 was in consideration of the information defendant had given prior to the raice. Defendant deposed that plaintiff was always looking for information from him about Tamaroa, and that plaintiff said he would be betting heavily on Tamaroa if he knew what the horse's chances were. Plaintiff offered to put £50 on the horse for defendant if the latter would give him the information. Defendant did so. and plaintiff paid him whaj, was due to hirn when the horse won. He repudiated liability when the horse Jorf. Defendant admitted writing a letter to plaintiff offering £25 to settle the matter, but this was done because he wanted to prevent illfeeling. The magistrate said section 52, in conjunction with section 70, of the Gaming Act. showed that an action of this sort was not tenable. It was illegal to put money on a totalisator through a third party. He added thai the evidence did not reflect very much credit on the defendant Boles. He non-suited plaintiff with costs.