TURF BETTING SYSTEM

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22224, 26 September 1935, Page 15

TURF BETTING SYSTEM

ENGLISH TOTALISATOR

AGENTS "OFF THE COURSE"

PARTICIPATION IN POOLS Proposals for amendments to the gaming law, that have been submitted to the New Zealand Government, are understood to include the setting up of a totaJisator board with power to make regulations for the appointment of agents and the control of matters connected with "off the course" betting; also for the establishment of "double" totalisators. The object, it would appear, is to divert illegal betting into legal channels where it will be subject to taxation.

This was precisely the purpose of the one clause directly affecting betting on horse racing in the Betting and Lotteries Act passed in Britain toward the end of 1933 by the House of Commons. It legalised the payment by the Betting Control Board of commissions to collectors of "off the course" bets which they transmit to the totalisator pools. These collectors now have what might be called totalisator shops in many centres from which the various bets are "flashed" to the machine on the courses by telegraph or telephone, the winning tickets thus participating in the racecourse dividend. Bookmakers' Challenge The menace that the bookmakers saw in this system was indicated by the legal action taken by the National Sporting League, a body largely composed of bookmakers, challenging the board's authority to pay commissions to "off the course" agents. At its instance the Attorney-General sought from the High Court a declaration that the Betting Control Board, which under the Act of 1928 is responsible for the operation of totalisators throughout England, was acting ultra vires in paying these commissions, also in making advances to a oompany called Tote Investors, Limited, toward providing accommodation on courses and also in providing fuftds for its initial expenses. The action failed and was carried to the Court of Appeal, where the judgment was upheld, except in the matter of initial expenses of the company. One of the objections was that outside activities ought not to be encouraged by the board. Evidence given at the trial that unless the volume of business increased beyond what took place on the racecourses where the totalisator was installed, it would not be possible for the board to maintain and operate the machine. The expenses involved •were too great to be defrayed out of "on the course" betting alone. "Ofl-the-Gourse" Participants

In giving judgment on appeal, the Master of the Kolls, Lord Justice Homer, said the distinction between "on the course" and "off the course" betting was well known, but there was no indication in the Act which set tip the board that this distinction was to be maintained. The object of the totalisator was that, subject to the deduction of the percentage paid to the operators, all money staked should be divided between the holders of the winning tickets. It was not easy to appreciate why bets so staked before the day of the race and elsewhere than on the racecourse should be treated as different from bets staked by those actually on the course, and should be deprived of the advantages which the totalisator afforded. So far as the test of what was reasonable was a question of fact, the evidence that this extra business was necessary to enable the totalisator to be operated without loss could not be overlooked. He thought that by reasonable implication the Act conferred on the board the power to act as they had done, and therefore the main objection taken by the relator to the proceedings of the board coidd not be sustained.

It is now anticipated that the totalisator turnover, which rose from £4,017,000 in 1932 to £5,135,000 in 1934, will substantially increase. In the first month of this year there was a 60 per cent increase, compared with the figure for the same month of last year.

"Daily Doubles" Feature

A very popular feature is the "daily double" tickets which can be bought either on the course or off. The "daily double" turnover for January was higher than that of the corresponding month last year. Agents advertise that they will arrange "accumulators," known in New Zealand as "all up" betting, on any number of races on the card. The system follows the example of France, where hundreds of totalisator offices have been opened under Government auspices in Paris and the provinces. A story is told of a Frenchman who laid an "accumulator" bet of five shillings which returned him about £4OO.

As to English prices, the chief totalisator agency has issued a slip comparing totalisator odds with startingprice bookmakers' odds showing the advantage of the machine. The list is:— Play On. s.p. 100 to 9, totalisator 17} to 1; Golden Miller, B—l8 —1 and 10} —1; Young Native. 100 —6, 49 3-8 —1; Campanula, 16—40, 25—40; Light Brocade, 7 —4, 3 1-8 —1; Ca.vmanas, 50 —1, 77 7-8—1; Claran, 6 —l, 7 i-S—l; Windsor Lad, 16—36, 27 —36; Enfield, 7—l. 11—1.

An argument advanced in favour of the establishment of "off-the-course" totalisator offices in New Zealand is that it would check credit betting with bookmakers.