GAMES IN HOTELS

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 58, Issue 4192, 2 June 1939, Page 8

GAMES IN HOTELS

LICENSES IN JEOPARDY. “GAMBLING” IN MEANING , OF ACT. “This committee considers that it is highly improper that games should be placed in hotel bars, and we consider that any encouragement to loiter in bars and drink more is to be discountenanced,” stated Mr S. L. Paterson, S.M., chairman of the Hamilton Licensing Committee, at the meeting yesterday, when giving a warning to hotel licensees that the practice rendered them liable to prosecution and the loss of the license. Mr Paterson said that proprietors of certain games desired to have them placed in hotel bars and billiard rooms. As far as the presence of such games in hotel bars was concerned, the committee expressed disapproval of the practice, and asked licensees not to allow games in their bars. “Fortunately,” commented Mr Paterson, “there has not been a great deal of the practice in Hamilton except for an electric gun in one hotel here.” The chairman added that the presence of such games might ebnstitute a breach of the Licensing Act, which disallows gambling in hotel bars and prevented any encouragement or excitement to drink. In explaining the use of the games, Mr Paterson said often a licensee offered a free drink or a free bottle of liquor to the customer in the bar who secured the best score in the game. Another method was for a crowd of players to pool a certain sum and the winner took the pool, from which he, “shouted” drinks to the other players. Mr Paterson considered that, within the meaning of the Licensing Act, such a definitely constituted gambling.