BETTING IN BRITAIN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 19170, 9 November 1925, Page 9

BETTING IN BRITAIN.

CANON AND BOOKMAKERS. CONTROVERSY AS TO PROFITS. j A. and N.Z. LONDON. Nov 6 Canon Peter Green, of Manchester, is j the central figure in an interesting bet- ' ting controversy. Canon Green asserted I that British bookmakers take £170,000,000 | a year from the pockets of bettors, j Mr. Lionel Phillips, a well-known LOll- - don bookmaker, promptly denied this. He : offered to give £IOO to charily if Canon Green could substantiate his statement. Both parties have now agreed to place evidence before a chartered accountant and to accept his decision. Canon Green has commenced by showing that the total number of bookmakers in Britain is 16,000 and thaf the income tax authorities, after having inspected the books of 1731 credit-bookmakers, found I their net profits to have been £1,042,000. ! This was only 3.4 per cent, of the gross profits, so that the 1731 bookmakers made gross profits totalling £30,647,000. Canon Green asks what do the remaining 14,263 bookmakers make? If they only average 60s a week the total would come to £65,000,003, making the total gross profits £96,000,000. But, he says, it is impossible to believe 60s a week represents the real profits, as the Inland Revenue Department estimutes the gross betting turnover at £417,000,000 a year, and the probable average net income of each bookmaker would bo from £6OO to £7OO a year.