LEGALITY OF ‘ RABBIT GAME” QUESTIONED

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 110, 30 July 1927, Page 4

LEGALITY OF ‘ RABBIT GAME” QUESTIONED

WINTER SHOW GAME Press Association. AN EjLLIXGTOX, Friday. THE question whether the ~rabb t game,” played at the Winter Show, is a game of skill or of chance is one on which Mr. E. Page, S.M., reserved decision in the Magistrate’s Court to-day. The police contended that it was a game of chance, as it was not equally favourable to all; that it encouraged gambling, and was a menace to public morals. The “rabbit game” is a mechanical device operated by electricity. There are 1” small tin imitation rabbits, each of which is attached to an endless chain. They move up a boarded slope in a groove, being propelled by means of a rubber ball, which each competitor endeavours to jerk with a lever into a box. Twelve competitors take part in every game, paying 6d each to enter. The prize, a box of chocolates, was worth about Is 9d. The “rabbit game” was played at last year’s show and at the Dunedin Exhibition. Detectives said there was a noticeable difference in the levers, some being easier to operate than others, and the jumps made by ‘he different rabbits were by no means equal. The defence was that the sending of the ball into the trap properly was a matter of skill and it was possible to regulate the length of the jump of the rabbit by the manner in which this was done. After hearing evidence the Court adjourned to inspect one of the booths