THE TOTALISATOR

Wairarapa Times-Age, 14 July 1938, Page 5

THE TOTALISATOR

NEW ZEALAND RETURNS. SPENDING POWER OF PEOPLE. Generally accepted as a sound reflection of the prosperity of a country, the totalisator returns for New Zealand for the 1937-38 season are the highest since 1930, but are below the levels reached between 1924 and 1930. With the object of providing comparisons of the spending power of the people (as reflected by the totalisator), with the wealth of the country, as reflected in the total value of its estimated production, figures have been compiled covering a period of 14 years. The figures show that although there is a marked upward tendency in the totalisator returns since the depression years, they are still below that of a decade ago. During 1924-25 and 192526 over £8,000,000 was invested each year on the totalisator in New Zealand, the total value of the country’s production in those years being estimated at £119,900,000 and £111,900,000. In 1937-38 the investments on the totalisator were £7,300,000 (approximately), and the value of the country’s production, in accordance with an estimate made recently by the Hon W. Nash, was £150,000,000. The returns for the principal meetings in the four. main centres during the 1937-38 season show that although the Wellington Racing Club and the Canterbury Jockey Club have caught up with the totalisator investments during the seasons from 1925-26 to 1928-29, the returns for the Auckland Racing Club and the Dunedin Jockey Club are still well below those during the same seasons.