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CHANGES IN BETTING LAWS £ Proposed Measure Being Consid- j £ ered By J British Parliament. y ♦ v of Totalizator or Pari-Mutucl to Supplant Hook-makers nnd lie Under Control of Jockey Club and National Hunt Committee. c ♦• D LONDON. Kngland. | The stewards of The Jockey Club and the J National Hunt Committee have circulated t. among members of Parliament a meraoran- ■ dum which explains the objects they have in view in promoting a bill for the legalisation | of the totalizator, and the steps they propose 1 to take in the event of the bill being passed J into law. , Following is the text of the measure : "Nothing contained in the Betting Act. 1S53. shall apply to any ground used for the i purpose of a race course for racing with B horses, or any adjacent ground under the l same control, or any act done on such v ground or adjacent ground, on the days on . which races held under the rules of The Jockey Club or of the National Hunt Com- i mittee, or both such bodies, take place. I "This act may be cited as the Race Course J Betting Act. 192S. This act shall not apply J to northern Ireland." , FUNDS FROM BETTING. The memorandum which has been pre- I pared by the stewards of The Jockey Club j and the stewards of the National Hunt Com- mittee is in the following terms : j Object of the Bill. — The bill, which has i been Introduced by Maj. Ralph Glyn, M. P.. I to amend the Betting Act of 1853, is designed I solely with a view to the removal of certain J anomalies regarding betting on race courses J while horse racing is taking place, and as a , result to enable the stewards cf The Jockey | Club and the stewards of the National Hunt I Committee to obtain funds from the betting public and from the bookmakers, which will be utilized for the benefit of horse breeding and of the sport generally. TlM Betting Act of 1853. — This act is entitled "an act for the suppression of betting houses," and is intended to make it illegal to carry on betting at any "house" or "place" with "persons resorting thereto." It is clearly directed against the admitted , evils and annoyances which were rife at the time of the passing of the act, especially in the larger towns and cities, owing to the existence of betting houses. In actual practice, however, the act will not permit of a bookmaker being allotted any particular place on a race course where he can stand and carry on his business of cash betting, although cash betting in itself on a race course is not illegal. When at a later date the totalizator or pari-mutuel was invented, it was found that the wording of the Act of 1853 prohibited its erection on a race course, as that would have meant the creation of a "place." used for betting with "persons resorting thereto," although it is obvious that none of the public evils and annoyances against which the act Is directed could have resulted from its use. Effect of the Bill— -If Major Glyns bill becomes law, many advantages, with no corresponding disadvantages, will accrue to the public generally and to the horse breeding and horse racing interests in particula . These advantages will arise in the main 1 from two sources : A The erection of totalizators or pari-mutuels on courses used for horse racing. B The power which the stewards of The ; Jockey Club and of the National Hunt Committee " through the owners of race courses ! will possess to regulate in the best interests of the sport of racing and of the public who frequent race meeting the betting done by bookmakers on race courses. Intentions of Stewards of Jockey Club and National Hunt Committee. — The stewards of J The Jockey Club and of the National Hunt Committee, as the ruling authorities in regard " to flat racing and steeplechasing, respectively, are desirous that members of j the House of Commons should be informed as to the steps which they propose to take e if the bill becomes law. All race meetings under The Jockey Club Bules of Racing and under National Hunt Rules are held under a license granted by the stewards of The Jockey Clu or by the stewards of the National Hunt Committee, and must conform in every way with the rules and regulations laid down "y these e bodies. If the Bill now before Parlia — t becomes law, it is proposed to establish a central il authority under the direct c introl of these e two bodies with the collaboration of the race e course owners. This central authority will II raise the necessary funds and erect and j operate totalizators or pari-mutuels on the 0 various courses where horse racing takes s place under their rules. All monies paid into or distributee, by the totalizatrrs or pari-mutucls will be directly y controlled by this authority. POSITION OF BOOKMAKERS. It "is the intention of the stewards that a a charge shall be made by the race course owners to bookmakers for the right of betting o . ground controlled by these owners, and 5 the whole of the receipts from this charge •e will be paid over to the central authority, . and be dealt with by tlia authority in the ie same way as any surplus arising from the use of the totalizators .or pari-mutuels. A percentage of all bets m;u e with the l0 totalizators or pari-mutuel will be deducted by the central authority, and the balance .e distributed to winning backers. To this percentage will be add -d the receipts from the charge made- to bookmakers "S for the right of betting on the various race •e courses and the fund thus created will be e used as follows: a Payment of betting duty to the government on bets made with the totalizator r or pari-mutuel. b Payment of current expenses for T maintenance, upkeep, anil general working. c Payment of interest at an agreed rate te upon the capital raised to finance the installation i- and erection. d Repayment or setting aside of a sufficient annual sum to amortize the capital expenditure s- over a period of y rr. The balance will be utilized by the central authority in accordance with a scheme ic which will be prepared in order to benefit it the breeding of horses and further the best st Interests of the sport generally. The scheme would comprise the following r: : a Increase of stake money, particularly ly il e e II j 0 s y a a 5 •e . ie l0 .e "S •e be e r for T te i- s- ic it st r: : ly for the smaller races, and the reduction of the heavy charges now borne by owners in respect of entering and running their horses, b Improvement of race tracks, stabling. and other matters connected with the actual racing. c Fncouragement of horse breeding. d Improvement of the accommodation provided for and lowering of the charges made to persons attending race ,eting. It is a proponed that a ] . , portion of this balance shall be devoted to charitable purposes. Accounts. — The accounts of the central au-,. thority will be indited and published an-,,. nually. 3eneraL — It will be seen from the objects set forth above that it is not the intention of the promoters of the bill that any part of the surplus funds derived from the to-[e talizator or pari-mutuel, or from charges made to bookmakers, shall be utilized in order to increase directly the profits of pri-d vately-owncr race courses, or the dividends payable to shareholders of companies owning race courses. ECONOMY WITH EFFICIENCY. The Inquiries made by the Stewards of ! The Jockey Club and of the National Hunt : Committee have satisfied them that totaliza-r- tor are obtainable which are proof against fraud or dishonesty, and which will collect and distri.ute in an expeditious and fully satisfactory manner the monies invested thereon by the betting public, The particular make and type of machine to be adopted for any race course will depend upon the circumstances of that in-i- dividual course, and every effort will be made in the installation and running of the machines to combine economy with effi-n- ciency. "• will be noted that the betting duty on all 1 bets made through the totalizator will be collected by the government at regula/ intervals, and with r. minimum of expanse through I the central authority, thus eliminating any r possibility of any leakage of revenue thereon. .
