THE GAMING AND LOTTERIES ACT.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXX, Issue 8990, 27 November 1907, Page 6

THE GAMING AND LOTTERIES ACT.

'"ZETLAND'S" VIEW OF THE POSITION.

The much-debated Gaming and Lotteries Act has, by the addition of the Governor's signature, become | law. It is generally considered one of the most drastic acts of legislation yet brought into force in a country which has on previous occasions astonished the world by adopting newfangled ideas; many of which have little in the way of common-sense to recommend them. The endeavour to stem the tide of the awful gambling indulged in during late years by such a large section of the people of New Zealand is the outcome of" representations made to Sir Joseph Ward by certain denominations which know very little of the subject on which they have the bold audacity to advise. The reason of the Fremier falling in with their views is probably that of wishing to oblige agitators, this being a means to an end in the direction of assisting his party to remain in» power. ; Were the sportsmen of the do- V minion, who resent the interference evidenced by the Act under notice, to use their voting power in a certain direction at the next general election, there would in future be a great deal ,'.ess of the now constant meddling with the liherty of the subject. The inconsistency of the Act is shown conclusively by the fact of bookmaKet'a being abolished in so far as slreet and house betting is concerned, while it is mandatory on the part of racing clubs to license pencillers--who are fit and proper persons- -to bet at fill meetings where the totalizator is* used. The bill was ostensibly introduced with a view to curtailing the gambling spirit, but will its provisions act in this direction by the general licensing of bookmakers at lace meetings? Decidedly not, for whereas the totalisator does not ask thp public to bet, tbe bookmakers, who will be required to pay license fees, are sure to canvass spiritedly for business. This will hardly result in much lessening of gambling. The Act, which bears the impress of being rushed through in a hurry, says that street betting is prohibited, and further on a clause is found to the j effect that if a bookmaker bets in a street the person who made a wager with him is entitled to recover his money in the courts if he loses. I am of the opinion that there are hundreds of bookmakers throughout ttie country who will be quite willing to stand the risk of their clients-going to law to recover losses. Perhaps the author of this clause does not know that an investor as a rule is a person imbued with plenty of hope, and should the bookmaker get the best of the deal one day, the loser is generally sportman enough to hope to score a win later on and thus square matters. Another clause, intro • duced for the stated purpose of confining betting to the courses, at which meetings are being J held, says in effect that 110 rncing club can accept telegraphed or I telephonic instructions as t;o investments on the totalisator. Did not the committee to which the Act was referred know of any other means by | which investors could gain their desired end? Probablj not, but the excuse will naturally be that very little time was allowed for the proper study of the very clever clauses contained in the bill. When the Act was first circulated there was a very general impression that it had little chance of becoming law this session. If a different idea had ruled, the racing clubs of the dominion would have been up in arms to protest against the foisting of bookmakers on to the racecourses, where for yeara large sums of money had been spent to preclude the pencillers from making inroads on the totalisator revenue,' from which comes the substantial prize money available to winning owners. Racing clubs will now quickly realise that the lessening of totalisator revenue must be followed by reductions in stakes, for the fees derivable from bookmakers will not nearly equal the loss of machine commission. The harm thus done to racing clubs will be of a far-reaching nature, and at the same time the ideas of our paternal Government will not be realised, for the business lost to the bookmakers in the towns will be made up in their operations at racecourses, and consequently gambling will be but little decreased.