CHEAPER BETTING

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 30, 5 February 1931, Page 9

CHEAPER BETTING

DEMAND OF THE TIMES HOW TO POPULARISE RACING

That the five-shilling totalisator is not the fancy of a moment, but has definitely come to stay, and must, sooner or later, fee generally adopted throughout the Dominion, is the view most Auckland racegoers now hold. Nor to anyone who has seen the popularity of the innovation made by the Takapuna Jockey Club last November does the opinion so expressed appear in the least exaggerated. The club has now completed its second meeting with the five-shilling unit, and the success of its latest fixture demonstrates in no uncertain way how the lower unit meets a modern need. There was no wild rush for the cheaper tickets last week, as there was in December, and the public accepted the new unit just as though it had been the ■usual mode of making an investment since totalisator betting first began.

It may be difficult for oirn who knows racecourses only at this end o£ the island to realise how much more keenly patrons of northern metropolitan and suburban meetings follow the sport than they do here. Ease of access, of course, is a jriueipal factor, and, in the case of Takapuna, cheapness of, admission and betting is another main factor. y The crowd that crossed the harbour td attend the" Takapuna Meeting on Saturday was cosinopolitaii in the extreme, and ko much did the public enter the spirit of the sport that even though the last race was run an hour late, there, were few muririurs of complaint. It was almost as though the majority did not want the day's lacing to end. Entrance charges wece. within the range of all, for 2s 3d provided a return ferry fare and admission to the course, and the lawn charges were proportionately low. Five-shilling betting facilities were available to all who wished to invest, whether in the outside or inside enclosures. The day's racing, even to the jnost unfortunate, need not have been anything except a comparatively cheap and enjoyable afternoon's entertainment. That is what it was in the vast majority of cases, and because of/the knowledge that it was to be so was due the happy disconcern of those who were "having a day fit the races." '

How much, do those who still maintain that a lower betting unit is not an actual Ineed of the moment thus 'misunderstand the requirements of the public they believe they are serving, unless, of course,' y?akapuna is to be ruled out as an exceptional case. Certainly there are plenty of people who would not deign to gamble in sums less than£l, but is rather because they are following a precedent that liad its origin and" was established' in a time when_ conditions and the mind- of the people' generally were different' from what they are now. The new generation, arid much of the fringe of the old, find |£l, and even 10s, quite large sums to gamble, and; if they had xtheir' choice, would.prefer to lay out their hazards in Jtve shillings, or even in half-crowns or florins. The reasou is apparent. Oi/e has so many silver outlays to make in the jnodern world that one cannot risk losing the bigger amounts that did not much jnatter in a day when there were few calls for extraordinary expenditure.

In England, where the totalisator has been adppted onjy during the past couple of years, the unit was settled at once as ■36w as 2s. The Betting Control Board jieVer for a moment considered starting off with a higher unit, for it estimated the potential betting ability,' not of the average racegoer that it wished to attract, but of: the poorest person who could afford ]to bet, and it graduated its units inpowers of ten up from that mark. How much more reasonable it would be for those who wield the power in this to follow along similar lines and provide a unit within actual reach of the poorest sportsman who desired to have ah interest in a race, and then provide multiple units for those whose purse is larger; than what appears to be the present rule of a unit that few can afford they are not holding, and most can jll-afford under any .circumstance. The argument of higher handling costs for the (smaller unit does not hold much ground, because actually it is the bettor himself who pays for the facilities of betting, not those jivho control the facilities for him. JThe present is definitely a most opportune time for all clubs, and particularly smaller clubs, to inaugurate betting in Sower units,-arid it is highly probable that those near the main centres of population jivill be well repaid for any initiative they jnay take in this direction. Even lower if such should be the outcome, .■would not necessarily mean reduced profits, for there would be so many more odd money collections, and these would compensate for other loss, should there be Jsuch. The Taranaki Club has instituted fe, five-shilling totalisator for its next meeting, and the result will be closely watched. Other clubs have promised 10s facilities, (whereas previously there were only £1 tinits, but this concession may not pay so as the further or ultimate reduction to 5s or 2s 6d, or even to 2s, might have 'done. At least, clubs planning to alter expensive equipment to provide for 10s instead of £1 betting, would be ■well advised to wait longer, and see whether the trend is not towards a demand for the )nore drastic reductions.