Bookies banned from NZ racecourses

A 1910 amendment to the Gaming Act banned bookmakers from New Zealand racecourses. ‘Bookies’ were officially farewelled at a race meeting at Takapuna.

Bookies had come under increasing pressure in the closing decades of the 19th century after totalisators began operating on New Zealand racecourses.

The totalisator system involved adding up the amounts bet on all the horses in a race, deducting a commission or fee, and distributing what was left among those who had backed the winners and placegetters. Unlike fixed-odds betting with a bookmaker, the gambler didn’t need to ‘shop around’ for the best deal. On the other hand, he didn’t know what return to expect. This deficiency was addressed by displaying, as the betting was taking place, the number of bets made on each horse and the total amount bet on the race.

In reality bookmakers did not disappear and many illegal operators continued to make a good living. Totalisator bets could not be placed by telephone or telegraph, mediums readily used by bookies. At the end of the Second World War it was estimated that the annual turnover from illegal bookmaking exceeded £24 million (equivalent to $1.8 billion in 2010, when actual TAB turnover was $1.6 billion).

The expression ‘rugby, racing and beer’ highlighted the prominence of gambling in New Zealand society. Most New Zealanders are familiar with the letters TAB, which denote the Totalisator Agency Board that was established in 1949. Telephone betting remains popular, while the internet has replaced the telegraph for many keen to have a flutter on the nags.

Image: betting on horses, 1912 (Te Ara)