N.Z. SWEEPSTAKE

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXII, Issue 19435, 22 October 1925, Page 4

N.Z. SWEEPSTAKE

ENTERPRISING SYDNEYITES. SCHEME NIPPED IN THE BUD. SYDNEY, Oct. 21. Richard Abbott, lalias Bex Freeman, an agent, pleaded guilty to being the occupier of a room used for the purpose of receiving money relating to the New Zealand sweepstake. The police gave evidence that 15,000 books of tickets were printed, each, book containing eleven 5s tickets, which would return to the promoters about £37,500. The prizes totalled about £lO,OOO, but no arrangements had been made for drawing the sweep. Defendant gave evidence that the promoters had kept a record of every one who had sent money for tickets and now the matter was nipped in the bud, steps would be taken to refund the money. The bulk of the money had been sent back to New Zealand. Abbott was fined £lOO, and Phillip Lussich, printer, was fined £2O for printing the tickets without attaching to them his ntime and place of abode.

A Sydney message on October 14 seated: The police detained a man and a woman as they were leaving the post office with a large number of letters from New Zealand containing a liarge amount of money for tickets in a bogus sweep, which they allege the man is conducting. The police state that the man sent books of tickets to people in towns all over New Zealand, with a letter explaining how the sweep was to be run. The sweep was on the New Zealand Cup, run in Chrihtchurch in November, and was called the New Zealand Sweepstakes, and the prize-money totalled £lO,OOO, the first prize £5OOO. It is believed that thousands of tickets were sold all over the Dominion, the promoter explaining that the tickets were to be sold exclusively in New Zealand. The reason the lottery was run from Sydney was owing to the postal difficulties in New Zealand. The agents were instructed to forward all money for tickets by postal note only, cheques or, money orders not being acceptable. The police state that it is remarkable that the promoter was able to organise such an illegal lottery in New Zealand and control it from Sydney and make it such la success. When the police detained the man, there were a number of New Zealand newspaper clippings in his mail, showing that the sweep had roused considerable interest, one paper under the heading of, “A. Doubtful Sweep" describing the way the lottery was run. Another paper stated that the operations of certain sweep promoters in Australia were suspicious).