RADIO AND BETTING

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Volume 59, Issue 229, 30 October 1930, Page 13

RADIO AND BETTING

SUSPICION OF FRAUD. REFUSAL TO PAY OUT. EVIDEXCE IN GISBORNE CASE. Another suggestion that wireless broadeasting is used lor the purposc of defrauding bookmakers was made in Ihe Police Court in Gisborne during the liearing of a charge of keeping a coinmon gaming house. One witness for the police was a young man wlio said that he had made bets with accnscd on horses that dulv won. Tlie amount ov.Tng to liiin as Lho result of the traiiSactions was ahout £G0, but payment of most of that suin was refused, on the ground that ihe bets v. ore made after the official starting tiuie. The accused was Samuel Bardwell, fniitprer The police evidence- was lo the effect that accused had in his possession the nsual bookmaking paraphernalia, iucluding the rules of the Bookmaking' Association, and telegrams giving ihe divideiuls at an Auckland meeting. MTilliam Ralpli YIcKinley said that on the first day of the Auckland races lie plaeed £3 each on^ Karapoti, and Seatown and £1 on Karapoti, all i;n Scatown, Altliough Bardwell protested that it was a hit late lie aceepted the wager, HaviiiG: heard that the horses iii.s oini but £0 was for somebody else. Bardwell asked him wlio the bets were made for. He explained that £1 was had won, witness ealled to collect, but Bardwell subscqupntly paid £16 12s, instead of ahout £60. For the defence, Ylr .T. >S, A\ auchop said that since the inauguration of broadeasting l'ace results bv wireloss tliere wa.s a suspicion in Gisborne that manv bookmakers were defrawled by people wlio recelved results over the aii In this case Bardwell was of the opinion that an attenipt liacl been made fo defraud him and he refused to he frightened into paying un. Tn this case it was knowii thta what Jiorse had won the race altliough McKinley did not know at the timo. Mr P. H. Hanier. S.YI.. said thore was proof of isolnted hcts, but _ the evidencp was insufficient tn sustaiu a charge nf keeping a common gaming house. Tlie charge was therefore clismiissecl.