Gambling Almost Twice Cost Of Defence

Press, Volume CV, Issue 30953, 8 January 1966, Page 14

Gambling Almost Twice Cost Of Defence

(New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, January 7. New Zealanders spent almost twice as much on gambling as on defence in the last financial year.

Punters on and off the courses spent £57.1 million, of which the Inland Revenue Department took £5.3 million in tax. . The total tax over the last 10 years to July, 1965. on the T.A.B. turn-over has araount|ed to £24,896,811. FOUR RECORDS j In the first three months of I last year four records were I broken for off-course betting.

They gambled about £63 million on horses and lotteries in the year ended March 31. Expenditure on defence was £36.9 million. The figures were compiled! yesterday with the aid of the! Treasury, the Internal Affairsj Department, the Statistics De-1 nartment and the police. 1

These were for one day, on January 23. £571,192.: for one club, £328,598, Wellington Racing Club. January 23: for one night trotting meeting, £186,326. Forbury Park Trotting Club. March 3: for one double, £188,921, Wellington Racing Club, January 23. In 52 Golden Kiwi lotteries and three Mammoth lotteries, gamblers spent a total of £4m. FALLING OFF The Golden Kiwi lottery was introduced in 1961 and the Mammoth lottery in May, 1964. The popularity of the Golden Kiwi has fallen off since its first full financial year in 1962-63, when 74 lotteries were held. The Internal Affaire Department issued 8933 licences for raffles with prizes worth more than £25. ■ This was in addition to licences issued by the police for I raffles with prizes of less than £25. An estimated £1.9 million was spent on these raffles, bringing the total to an estimated £63 million. The defence vote for 196566 is for £4O million. AUSTRALIAN COST

Last year Australians gambled an estimated £737 million and spent £741 million on defence, foreign aid. education, health, public welfare, and repatriation. New Zealand's total expenditure for these services by comparison is £2BB million.

It is estimated that £325 million is spent by Australians on illegal gambling. New Zealand police said there were only isolated incidents of bookmaking in New Zealand.