ROTTEN TO THE CORE.

Taranaki Central Press, Volume IV, Issue 415, 23 April 1937, Page 7

ROTTEN TO THE CORE.

BETTING IN AUSTRALIA Hon. G. R. Hunter’s Impressions. Chris church, April 23. “The whole system of b ttMmg in Austrclia is wrong and rotten to the core,” said Hon. G R. Hunter, M.L.C., □n his return to Christchurch af-ter spending two months touring New Sou h Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. Mr Hun>ter said that as a past president of the Cant rbury Owners’ and Breeders’ Association, as a racehorse owner, and I s a trus'ee of the Canterbury Jockey Club, tie was particularly inter sted in the systems of betting in Australia, bo h for trotting an>d galloping. The bookmaker and the tot lisa'or. generally spdaking, were both (available for the backing of horses in Australia, but it was the to alisator that determin d the odds. “In South Australia,” he added, ‘bet.ing shops have been established, find I would regret very much to see lheir introduction in N w Zealand. A Pernicious Influence. ‘‘l visited one of these betting shops on the day of the Oakbank races and saw women betting, and in betwe n races peeling po.a oes and apples to take home for their husbands’ dinner. 'These betting shops ria:er for th? poorer classes, and bets as 10-v.' as 2/- are tak n, but in my opinion they can only haye a pernicious influence on the communi-ty. They do not exist in Victoria or Ne»v South Wales.” Mr Hunter said lig thought the syst m of bett'ng in N w Zealand could not be improved upon except lor the introduc ion of a double >o allsator. He suw a double toital•sator in operation at the Oakbank races, and th e system followed was lor <th . club to select two races for double betting. If a man’s horse won the first race he had the right to pick ,a horse for .he next event, the amount of the investment b ing 5/-. On that occasion two outsiders won, and only one man Piftked the double, if several persons pricked the Wto winners on the [ double totalisator, the amount of ths dividend would, of course, be divided accordingly. The system of double betting was very popular, said Mr Hunter, and it was restricted io the course. Starting Price Betting. There was a great outcry in Sydney against the system of starting price betting, he added. Every ho el and restaurant had its starting price agent operating, land on? result had been a falling off iin the at endances at. race meetings. Bets as low as sixpence were accept- id by the starling | price agents, who were unlicenced I and carried on their illicit be ting to 1 the detriment of the racing clubs and I >he licensed bookmakers, as 'Well as | robbing the S ate of rev nue. | In each of the States he visited, | the totalisator and the licensed booki maker operand side by side, and at trowing meetings in South Aus halia he saw a 2/- totalisator and a 2/double totalisator. He /considered that the existing New Zealand system, with th? addition of the double totalisator on the course and with Provision for 5/_ bets, would be as good as any system could be