NEW BETTING REGULATIONS.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3465, 20 April 1920, Page 5

NEW BETTING REGULATIONS.

CAN BE EVADED. 7 TELEGRAMS AND TELEPHONES. EXPERIENCE IN CHRISTCHURCH. CHRISTCHURCH, April 199. - The amended regulations under which thc_tr_anslnission of telegrams appearing to ‘relate to~be‘tting tl'arlsn,e--tions is prohibited have been enforced‘ in several instances this wcelc. As far: as can be gathered, telegrams addresse ed to individuals believed‘ to be eons cerned in hookmaking in Cllristchureh" were refused at the telegraph oflice, At places outside Christchurch city, however, in spite of the drastic nature of the regulations intended to prevent‘ ,telephones,g' telegraph, and postal boxes from being used for purposes of gambling, inquiries made bye. “Sun” representative ‘confir.med_ the impression that bookmakers looked. on the regulations somewhat from the point of View of being an inCon\'eni~ rence, rather than a direct obstacle to the pursuit of their calling. Naturally the pressman found reluctance on their part to publicly ‘express their views, but one man, with the discreet‘ qualification thatthe stopping of telegrams did not aflect him personally, exclaimed: “You c.an’t stop betting. We’ll simply have to adopt other means to get. around the regulations. .They’ve stopped telegrams, but there are telegrams in plain Engish that PI defy anyone to connect with bet?-" ting, and telephones—-who’s to say what is said is betting ”

This man added That, so far as he knew, his business confreres still had their offices connected with telephones. Under the old regulations telegi-urns [in plain language relating to betting I or to investments on the iomlisator, or lin coded language reasonably supposed. to relate to betting, or to investmems‘ ‘on the totalisator, we. - prohibited only in the case Where tliegr were addresse-i to a person on a racecourse. or one -convicted of an oifence. under the Gaming Act, 1908. Now this pr0l1il:i~ tion is effective whoever is addressee. As a good number of bookmakers in the city have convictions against tlmm they had previously arranged. for telegrams to be sent to a. fictitious person. at their ofiice box number. The regulations just issued-contain nothing io prevent a bookmaker, or, if he has been convicted, his “dummy,” fX‘(\.~‘.l. receiving money-order telegrams. It is possibly on this point largely that iho efl:'ec_t of the recent decision of the Government. may be evaded. Apart from this it was put to the pressman, “Who ‘is to tell whether a, telegram in code. refers to ’bettingi_ Most commercial telegrams are in code. How is is possible to distinguish Whether :IVIa.I‘CIIS, Sympathy, Bushman,,’__ refers to"a_.,._ deal in oats or .1 double?” - »’ '

Ibhas been claimed that some of thc:-\ telephones belongifig to licensed hotels; are being fised By Eookmakel's since the new regulations came into fo‘-ee. If so, licensees are running grave 1-isli. Certain hotels are frequented by bock~ makers, but the main “portion of the bookmaking business is done over the telephone or by telegraph at the ofifir,-es of booknmakers. Only one bookmrxker of any consequence is known to r-an-y on big business away from his ofi‘x.~;_»_

Asked whether "the Tqgulations have been put into actual. operation- _l\~fl~ Wyatt, superintendent of felegrapjzs at Christchurch, replied that. thcfy ‘av.-0' be» -ing obcyefl; ' “ ' ' " “