BETTING AT RACES

Taranaki Daily News, 11 August 1932, Page 8

BETTING AT RACES

REINSTATING BOOKMAKERS. OPPOSED BY RACING CLUBS. The view that it would not be wise to reinstate bookmakers in New land was expressed by Mr. H. O. Nolan, president of the Auckland Racing Club, in his address at the annual meeting of the club on Monday afternoon. “The question of reinstating bookmakers on the Dominion racecourses was considered at the Racing Conference in July last,” Mr. Nolan said, “and a proposal dealing with their being again licensed was defeated by an overwhelming majority. There will, I suppose, always be a diversity of opinion on this subject, but from the point of view of raeng clubs there can, to my mind, be no doubt that the totalisator is more beneficial to clubs, to owners and racing generally, and I very much doubt if the Government would, by way of taxation, make up from the bookmaker what it would lose on the totalisator. The revenue accruing to racing clubs, even allowing for license fees, would certainly be less with the bookmaker operating on the racecourses.” For the year ended last June, Mr. Nolan added, the Government received from the club by way of taxation £42,583, as against £62,617 for the previous period —a considerable decrease mainly brought about by the burden of over-taxation. It was pleasing to learn that the Government now realised that it had almost strangled a very productive source of revenue and was lightening the burden by refunding to clubs 1 per ceut. of the totalisator for the financial year ending March 31 next, iu addition to If per cent, on the first £20,000 of totalisator turnover which had been allowed for some seasons past. The taxation, however, was still too heavy, and the Government would do well to further lighten the burden by reducing the percentage that investors have to pay for the privilege of making investments.