STREET BOOKIE TO GO.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17244, 10 January 1924, Page 7

STREET BOOKIE TO GO.

BETTING MENACE IN GREAT BRITAIN. COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS TOTES AND TAXATION. By Telegraph.—Press Association.—Copyright.—Sydney “Sun” Came. (Received .January 10. 10 a.m.) LONDON, January 9. The Betting Committee’s draft report states that the committee is of the opinion that betting is ingrained in the AngloSaxon character. Prohibition is impracticable. The State would not be giving its imprimatur by registration or taxation. On the contrary, taxation would assist in decreasing many evils of the practice. A tax of two and a half per cent, would produce probably £5,000,000 yearly, a portion of which might be used to encourage horse breeding. Totalisators and parimutuels should be legalised on racecourses. The report emphasises that, the street bookmaker must be eliminated. The committee declares that the streets in the towns are infested by bookmakers’ agents, leading to continual breaking of the law, demoralising character, and weakening respect for the law. The industrial districts are permeated with illegal betting houses, which are kept under the guise of small businesses, such as hairdressers, tobacconists, newsagents, and confectioners. Bookmakers have also established a system of canvassing artisan householders during the absence of husbands, inducing women to bet, which is most pernicious, because it can be done only on the housekeeping money. Women use children surreptitiously to carry betting slips, leading to betting on the children’s own account, entailing a great danger to the rising generation. Street bookmakers have perfected a system of giving them practically immunity under the existing law. The report says that few of the police are equipped with the mentality necessary for detection of betting, while they hate the work as they bet themselves when otf duty. Betting is increasing among women, notably domestics and textile workers. There is hardly one works in the country employing twenty hands and over which is not supplied with a bookmaker’s agent.