"Gambling in its Relation to Sport."

Waiapu Church Gazette, Volume II, Issue 9, 1 March 1912, Page 136

" Gambling in its Relation to Sport."

It is not claimed that this paper contains anything original. It is based on an essay by the present Bishop of Tasmania m that excellent weekly published by the Rev. B. S. Hammond, of Sydney, under the name of Grit. We will first attempt to define gambling. Reduced to its elements gambling is a transaction wherein a chance or hazard is either arbitrarily selected or artificially created as a means of passing money or moneys worth (prizes excepted) from one person to another on the bare issue of such chance or hazard, without the recipient of such money or moneys worth, having given, or being liable to give, anything of economic value to the other person to the transaction,

We will next attempt to define "Sport" for the purposes of this paper. Sport, then, is a comprehensive term including a number of different pastimes pursued for recreation or health culture, or for both of such purposes, but not for the purpose of betting or gambling. Now, it is of the very essence of gambling that an appeal is made to hazard or chance, aud it is to be noted that some of these appeals are praiseworthy. Take this case. An inhabitant of one of the older lands occupying an obscure position, determines to seek fresh fields and pastures new m some oversea Dominion, with the idea of bettering his material condition. Here, after every enquiry made, resolution taken, or decision arrived at, uncertainty largely enters into the enterprise. The would-be emigrant may or may not, on arrival at his intended destination, fall amongst influential friends, local conditions may be temporarily adverse or otherwise, the climate may or may not be suitable. There must, m short, be many factors, which the most careful and extended enquiry will not disclose, any one of which may enter into the issue of success or failure. Or, again, a General is called on to lead an advance against or repel an attack by the enemy. He will, if he be a wise man, have the necessary reconnoitring made, he will ascertain, as far as he can, the relative strength or weakness of his own position aud that of his opponents. Once more, a young man m an assured subordinate position, drawing a comfortable salary, and having dependent on him a wife and young family, desires to start business on his own account. Here, the aspirant reckons up his capital, estimates the cost of running the proposed business, and attempts to estimate the probabilities. Even after all this is done, many factors will still be unknown, whilst some are, as yet, m the womb of the future. Bisks must be taken, whilst the ultimate result, however high hope may rise, is shrouded m darkness, which partly steadies and partly inspires the adventurer. Or, again, a statesman perceives, or imagines he perceives, a great wrong under which many of his fellow citizens are suffering After due and earnest consideration he formulates a remedy. The success or failure of the remedy must, at best, be largely a matter of conjecture. The only method of attempting to solve the doubt is to Bfl^e a,n hqnest effort to put the.

remedy m operation and sympathetically administer it. Now, m all these cases, the appeals to hazard or chance, as well as the risks taken, are laudable. It is surely not wrong to make an attempt to get on m life, to take up the cudgels on behalf of one's native land, or honestly endeavour to remedy a crying evil. If there were not always cool, calm, and intrepid spirits, prepared to take the necessary risks, there would be national, social, and individual stagnation ; of real and solid progress there would be none. The taking of such risks are, therefore, not only laudable but necessary. Such risks are not gambling risks, but are part and parcel of a nations evolution. Then, take for example, the sport of rowing. The rowing men of one College pit themselves against the rowing men of another College and essay conclusions m order to discover who has the better team. So with cricket, football, hockey, and right through the whole list of outdoor sports. A sane desire to excel and thereby develop strong, healthy bodies as a means of increasing one's usefulness, is a duty quite as binding as the cultivation of one's mental faculties. So also with indoor games viewed as a means of relaxation, affording rest to mind and body, the trying of conclusions between devotees is of the very essence of such games. In all these cases, though the dominating factors tending to success are skill, patience, and endurance, the issue is largely a matter of mere conjecture, and here too there is nothing immoral m making the appeal to hazard or chance No one ■would dream of contending otherwise. Where, then, does the immoral element, if any, come m ? That element, I think, comes m when either combatants or non-combatants make the passing of money or moneys worth, other than as prizes, solely "depend on the issue of the event. Player A pits himself against Player B for a consideration, or non-combatants X and V bet on the respective merits of the rival players or teams. In either case the mere making of the bet is conclusive proof that the game is not sufficiently attractive to the persons betting without the additional zest of winning something foreign to the pastime. -ot the victor's laurel alone, but something m the nature of pelf is required to satisfy a passion for acquiring something which would not otherwise belong to those making the bet. Now, universal experience js th.at -wherever the passion for

gambling enters into sport, there you at once sow the seeds of possible corruption. We are told that the love of money is the root of all evil and certainly, wherever it is not a gift, or a prize, or a just reward for honest work, its tendency is first to corrupt and then to degrade ; and how often have we seen even a gift or a bequest take away from the recipient all incentive to honest effort as a preliminary to working m him utter degradation and ruin. It may be said that gambling only gives an additional zest to the pastime. The point, however, on which I wish to insist is that those who will not either play, or look on without playing, unless there is an extra inducement m the shape of a bet, will, m due course, use the pastime merely as an instrument for gambling. Instead of the betting remaining a mere incident of the pastime, the tendency is for the pastime to become a mere incident of the betting. Take the sport of horseracing, which we are constantly being told is the " Sport of Kings." Does any sane and intelligent person even pretend, at this time of day, that if all gambling on horse-racing, whether by means of the totalisator, the bookmaker, or otherwise, was made a criminal offence, that this " Sport of Kings" would survive a year if such a law were rigourously enforced? and, if this is so, does it not follow that horse-racing is not now pursued merely as a pleasure, but as an instrument of gambling ? Now, it is to be noted that whilst pure sport is health-giving and, therefore, a means of creating the best asset any nation can haye — strong and sane men and women — gambling adds nothing to the wealth of the community. Two persons bet, one wins, the other loses. The only result is that money or moneys worth is transferred from the loser to the winner, There has been no production as a consequence of the transference. How different is a trade transaction ? A orders from a mechanic some useful article. The mechanic proceeds by means of his labour to convert the raw material into the article ordered. The Dominion is the richer by the result of the artisan's labour, and, even if the person giving the order is subject to a duty to pay the artisan the price of the article, he gets something m return for his money, whilst the artisan has, at least, the opportunity of devoting the money earned to many useful purposes. Here, then, we have two ecopoinic values a.t the

root of the transaction: The vendor receives the price, the purchaser the article bought. In a betting transaction there is only one economic value, the money which the loser pays to the winner, for which the loser gets no adequate return. Further, m a gambling transaction, there is the admitted tendency for the winner to stake his winnings m some fresh hazard, involving the almost certain risk of loss, whilst the loser often plungos still deeper into the mire, and the end thereof is shame, disgrace, a prisoner's cell, if not a suicide's grave. It cannot be too often insisted on that the passion for gambling is apt to grow by what it feeds on, until it bpcomes an almost uncontrollable mania, the subject of which does riot scruple to sacrifice honour, worthy ambitions, money, social status, and the love of family, on the altar of his insatiable god. As an instance of the extent to which gambling is apt to lay hold of the popular imagination, and of the extent to which men will go m order to gratify their passion for gain, one has only to remember the instance of the defaulting bookmaker on the Flemington racecourse only a few years ago. Scores of people kicked the unfortunate man to death m the presence of thousands, and to this day not one of the murderers has been brought to book. This is an extreme case, but it serves to shew how gambling helps to stir up the hellish passions of human nature. Instead of the victims of gambling becoming more fitted for their respective walks m life, as is the case with those who follow pure sport, they are apt to become the slaves of a resistless lust for gold, which even when gratified is as often as not wasted on unworthy objects. Further, does it ever occur to those putting their honest pound on the totalisator, or risking it with the bookmaker, the source whence comes the dividend m the case of a win ? Doubtless, by far the greater number of those who invest can afford to lose, but what about those who risk money which should go to pay their honest debts, or who cause their dependents to suffer m order that they may gratify their passion, or those who risk money not their own? It may safely be said that not an important race meeting passes by without there being included amongst the investors at least some representing one or other of these three classes of people. It must be remembered that not every case of extravagance or

theft is sheeted home, whilst the secret history of not a few suicides would throw a lurid glare on the evils resulting from the gambling habit. Can it be, then, altogether a comforting thought that at least a portion of one's winnings are the proceeds of extravagance and theft, the possession of which makes us partners m another's guilt? It must be taken, then, that gambling is a corrupting and not an ennobling influence, it causes much human sorrow, it is an incentive to crime, it adds nought to the wealth of the community, as a recreation it is not healthful, it debases true sport; it is selfish and, therefore, anti-social and immoral, whilst for all this there is no compensating advantage. Now, for the year ending the 3 1st March, 1892, there was put through the total isator machine the sum of £506,078, whilst for the year ending 31st March, 1910, there was put through that machine £2,030,426. The estimated population (exclusive of Maoris) on the 31st December, 1892, was 650,433, whilst on the 31st December, 1910, the numbers were numbers were something over a million. The amount per head of the population invested m 1892 was, therefore, roughly, 16s, whilst m 1910 the amount was, roughly, £2 0s 9d. It must be remembered that a few Maoris invest on the totalisator, and they are not included m the above cited population returns, and that whilst tne totalisator returns are for the period ending the 31st March m each year, those for the population are for the period ending the 31st December. It may, however, be taken that the figures I have given are approximately accurate, and, if they are, can it be reasonably contended that the totalisator has reduced the volume of gambling, more particularly if we take into consideration the moneys invested with bookmakers or sent out of the Dominion to the Tasmanian Tattersails, which I should say on a reasonable computation cannot be less than another half million. Further, if all these factors are taken into consideration, we have a sum devoted to gambling out of all proportion to our resources. Doubtless the same money is passed several times through the totalisator, but the figures quoted show that the mania for gambling is deep-rooted and widespread. If, then, gambling is anti-social and immoral, is it m accordance with sound principle that the State should

derive, as it did for the year ending 31st March, 1910, a sum of £29,645 as revenue for the use of the totalisator. We shall, doubtless, be told that gambling is as old as the human race, and that people will gamble no matter what legislative prohibitions may be enacted against it. But, if gambling is a vice, ought not the State to purge itself from all complicity therewith, and use its constitutional powers to eradicate and not perpetuate the evil ? It may be argued, and it often is argued, that legislative enactments prohibiting or restricting gambling would not be enforceable. It must, however, be borne m mind that the genius of the British race is to obey and not to defy the law. Further, can it be said to be sound policy for the Legislature to base its legislation upon the ideals of the law-breaker, and not upon sound ethical principles? Indeed, so long as the State has, itself, unclean hands it cannot reasonably expect its citizens to rise superior to a passion which not only inflames and degrades, but which is interfering with the civic usefulness of many a growing youth. I have before me the comparative totals passed through the totalisator at the various undermentioned New Year race gatherings for the years 1911 and 1912. Here they are :—

* Two days. + Three days. + Decrease. Here then are ten New Year race meetings shewing a reduction of seven days m the number of days on which races are permitted by law to be held and yet we have an an average increase m the amount invested of £117,451 for the year 1912 over that of 1911, the total amount invested for the year 1912 being £326,108. It will be doubtles3 said that this increase represents amounts which would have otherwise been invested with the bookmakers, who no longer are allowed to bet on racecourses. It mu<t not be overlooked, however, that as the result of recent legislation, the calling of a

bookmaker has been. made lawful, a position which still exists, though he is prohibited from plying his calling iti certain specißed places, and I am personally aware thai these gentlemen .iti 11 solicit custom. Further, the above table only represents the New Year meetings. It must not be forgotten that meetings are held at other seasons. The volume of betting is, therefore, still abnormally large and points to rainy blasted careers, many ruined homes, much artificial excitement, some crime, and not a little diversion of money from more legitimate objects, and the moral I wish to draw is that m so far as gambling is permitted to invade any form of sport, the result will be that the sport will not be pursued for the genuine and unalloyed pleasure and recreation it affords but for the opportunities it will open up for betting and gambling. I have been unable to procure the population returns for the year ending 31st December, 1911. I cannot, therefore, form any estimate as to the amount per head of the population on the New Year race meetings just concluded. Much lias recently been said about certain " wowsers " or " kill joys," who, it is said, are attempting to stifle all sport, and a cry has been raised that sport is m danger because of the anticipated action of these individuals. Now, so far as lam a judge, a " wowser " or " kill joy " is an individual, who at great loss to himself of time and money, though subject to cutting criticism, is endeavouring by reasonable and constitutional means to uplift humanity. Moreover, the majority of them either are or have been keen followers of sport. There are only two things from which clean sport needs protection : The one is the tendency of our young people to elevate sport into one of the chief ends of life ; the other is the vice of gambling. — S. E. McCarthy, S.M.

1912 1911 Increase. £ £ £ Auckland .. 176,908 94,771 82,137 Marton .. .. 25,980 14,891 11,089 Canterbury Park 23.014 23,294 $280 Southland .. *21, 104 +12,411 5.693 Hawke'a Bay . . *21,557 +15,614 5,493 Stratford.. .. *15,525 +14,625 3,900 Greymouth, trotting.. *15,050 +18,967 J3,917 Oamaru „ ; . . *13,494 +6,153 7,341 Wyndham .. *7,1>68 +5,730 2,238 Vincent .. .. *2,508 +2,201 307 326,108 208,657 117,451