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AUSTRALIAN REVENUE FROM RACING The regulation of racing in the Australian Commonwealth" is under the" jurisdiction of the various states," and the totalizator. Or mutuel system, has not been legal in New South AAales until, this year. It is now on the same footing as bookmaking in that state, which is legal and taxable. In introducing the measure which put the tote on the statute book, the premier; Mr. Holman, estimated that the revenue from tin? states seven per cent of the turnoverthree- hop cent going to the" clubs would be ,000,000 by the end of June. Australian papers just to hand tell how erroneous "was his calculation. The treasury received only 1,730, so that Mr. Holman has made a bad guess. It is pointed out by the. racing writers that, as was said nt the time, Mr. Holniuns mistake was in permitting bookmaking to continue, instead of following the example of South Australia, France and other countries in barring .the bookmaker. If he confines betting- operations to the tote they are of opinion that he may thus get all .the revenue he anticipated, but not otherwise, arid they no doubt have a better knowledge of conditions than prevails in the cabinet. The state treasury of New South AVales, however, lias not done badly in the matter of collecting from the people who go racing. The total amount of revenue from that. source, not including the totalizator, for the financial year ending on June 30, was 42,225. Of this, the ,sum. if 04,240 was stamp duty of betting tiekets and 37,990 from bookmakers licenses. It was evidently Mr. Hobnails expectation that he would retain this great sum and still draw more largely from the tote. Such anticipation, of course, was not that oC a. practical person, because it is well known that the two systems will not work together;- even if the. government expects them to.
