GAMBLING CRAZE

Hokitika Guardian, 14 September 1932, Page 8

GAMBLING CRAZE

• /INQUIRY IN .ENGLANjiJr- • . ■,’••• * i | • ; !< V-ii?':', ' POLICE AND SWEEPSTAKES. V; . . ’• . : / # vrnrmimm •*« ’“>' *?; V\ ‘■{ A , That the police in London cannot stop- street Betting was* admitted dby the Deputy Commissioner of the- Met*, ropolitan Police in 1 his ' evidence .before the-Roy»l Commission on Loti teries and Betting. Sir Trevpr- -Bigham, Deputy /Commissioner of the- Metropolitan Police, who) war the. principal • witness '.before the commission,- said-that'there -JlvAs/a/ vast amount - ■ of ; ready money betting on private premises which was practically untouched by the law. r -■ ;v ,, , “It is not too much tq say that police action with regard to street beti ting" is, Tor*, l! practical purposes, >inef* fective,; simply because, of .the -' large-' ness of the deinaitd- for betting facilities ■*’’ He said. '-' ‘ ‘Some-- parts ’of London are so riddled with street bdtting. that to deal with it effectively would require a very much larger number of police than could be made available without prohibitive expenditure. <lt is hbt By aty Means every-policeman who has the ability or the desire "to! !early out the duty 'effectively,’'’ • t Only the 'most -flagrant ( case'a could be dealt with; he feaid, and-a ! very large 'amount' f of business wiafe'lcpnduptv' ed with impunity. Even so, in/1’931 there were 3315 prosecutions; and the total fines amounted to over £20,000. I i “Speaking generally,” observed Sir Trevor, “the oporatioir of the betting laws, from, the-police point of" view/ is vel-y unsatisfactory; They ’ have* a ,bad' influence on police administration. They put the police, who* h should Tre - the friends of the law-abiding public in a position of antagonism to >-o very large part of itj which is lawabiding in all respects expcept those rising from the taste for gambing. v ACCUSATIONS OF DISHONESTY , “A grave objection to them is the temptation to the- police 'which-they are'DoUnd to give 1 rise to, and to which' the police’ sometimes succumb.: What makes this aspect of the matter worse 1 is thattlie public, seeing- the extent towhich illegal betting is carried on. with apparent impunity, is able to forni the' conclusion- that corruption is widespread'amd to’ignore the ’ efforts that afe made to enforce the law- as" far as it cam be enforced. -There is jio 44 ai tirient of police wor k in‘ which accusations of 'dishonesty are .ho/cond-*; hion. "• -• ’ /// ../ /V’ “Some, no doubt, have foundation/’ lie said,, “but a iafge number are false and nro actuated'.by the desire eithbr to injure rivals in the trade 05 ;to discourage. police activities/; The- subiofctr * therefore, is a cause of constant anxiety to police authorities, . and any change which would relieve it would be heartily welcomed;”, v Sir Sydney Skinner: To put it .baldly, they say that the police are /’Squared.” Is that, only gossip or is theW, any real basis, of I fact ? Sii’ Tifivor: Tbfit.is a very difficult

question to, answer,. . .... ■Yi -■ Deg Ling with the. action taken in regard to lotteries,: Sir Trevor Li said -thati'tvtva^..not- the..practioe .of. the . pblioe. to. inter fore with lotteries of a. private nature, Vj' .. -*-v.-V : - foe Chairman: Apart from the Irish which. .has submerged. us, a are; lotteries Jtfipt ,within reasonghle hound* under ’tjbe- present .law?—lt,..is ...yesy: difficult to say; what reasonable bounds are;, there .is qn. enormous number, cii;, lotteries,going on. • 1. - Mr Hitchenq; Have you any idea why, gambling has increased ?—A more natural growth;. it is a disease which' ia catching. l l • • , r-. It was suggested to me that it was simultaneous■.with a marked -decrease in drinking.—There has been a marked decrease ,in drinking, but .whether it is corelated Ito an increase*, in, gambling I cannot say. ; )Thc Chairman: No police, action can possible stop the success; of. the Irish Sweep in this counti-y ?—Nof onlji cannot stop it, but can hardly interfere*: with it in > the, slightest- degree.

PUBLICATION OF WINNERS. Mrs Stocks: It. is conceivable that a test '.case against a newspaper for tho •• publication of .the prize-winners' might bq more effective than “chivvying/ onp ov two 1 people. * Sir. T.ev:;r:.- iho question has beeri considered-as to! whether it* would be' n ;•proper' tiling to bring such a=fcase - before the courts,-and it was* decided .that it would not-be'Wise to do it. -il wbuld not i ; advise a- prosecution for the purpose of--testing the legality. The Chairman:» If you •• succeeded, everybody would lie shouting, "We’ want this news, and wily shouldn’t we haye it ? •Sir-Trevor: Yes, and tlie newspapers would say that it was an., important piece of ne-’'s which a t large<number of people wanted, and they had a right to have it. r . /;. Sir James Leishman:, Supposing Jt was considered so importaritr-that the people should not haye the news,*i then the Government' would , be justified . in* forbidding its publication ? “You want solid 1 public opinion be-hind-such action.” V. Later “Sir Trevor said that from the poirit of view of protection against fraud it seemed to him-that the prizewinners’ names should be published. : Tbc (!hai”'’rMi :' T eot a‘ lctv*r Inst night from a person in .America'saying that he had ’ heard I had bemi mndo chairman Of this commission, and. asking if-T could ’tel 1 h : p, l ,r *"' 't'? pot a ticket in the Irish (Laughter). Si.r James Leishman; Do the police