UNUSUAL BREACH OF GAMING ACT BEFORE MAGISTRATE’S COURT

Wanganui Chronicle, 4 May 1948, Page 6

UNUSUAL BREACH OF GAMING ACT BEFORE MAGISTRATE’S COURT

An unusual breach of the Gaming Act, involving the marking of squares on a sheet of paper, and described by counsel as the first prosecution of its kind in New Zealand, came before Mr J. H. Salmon, S.M., in the Magistrate’s Court, Wanganui, yesterday, when John Francis Henderson, married, aged 39, admitted a charge of commencing a lottery. Imposing a line of £lO, costs 10s, the magistrate warned defendant that the practice must stop and that if he again appeared before the Court the penalty would be much more severe.

Detective-Sergeant J. K. Robertson, w'ho prosecuted, said that this was an unusual form of betting on racehorses and Detective L. B. Vasta had previously warned defendant about it. When accosted by Detective Vasta and Constable C. Dudley on April 17, however, defendant was on his round, and at the request of the police handed over his papers, a specimen of which was produced. Each square referred to a race and the person marking four of them correctly received the odds 30 to 1. The magistrate: What is the extent of the betting? Detective-Sergeant Robertson explained that a bet of Is or up to 10s could be made on any one card, but there was nothing to stop a bettor taking more than one card. The police did not know where the papers were printed and did not think that defendant carried out this himselt. He had not been before the Court previously and was a bricklayer by trade but since oemg discharged from the Army had carried on this type of business instead of returning to his trade. “He is reported to be a good tradesman,” Detective-Sergeant Robertson added.

After being spoken to by Detective Vasta defendant had apparently carried on the business and had distributed the papers in hotels and about the town. It appeared to have become a very popular form of betting. “T.iis is not a breach that calls for a heavy penalty,” Mr. B. C. Haggitt submitted. Similar schemes were operating in other towns, and as far as lie was aware, had not attracted prosecutions. Defendant was interested in horse racing and after seeing the scheme operating in other towns had decided to run it on his own account in Wanganui. Three alternative prizes were offered. The first was for picking the winners out of the squared, the second was an offer of 20 to 1 for picking placed horses in each ol the four races and the third referred to the last three numbers of the tctalisator figures. Counsel asked that in view of the fact that this was the first prosecution of its kind in New Zealand, so far as he was aware, the case be treated more as a warning than anything else, “This is your first offence, but the country is in need of bricklayers and needs them very badly,” said the magistrate, imposing a fine of £lO. “It does not need this sort of thing and it has got to stop. If it occurs again the penalty will be much more severe.”