II. Using the house for betting.
Reference should be made to the notes on “What is Illegal Betting” in the chapter on Betting Houses. It would seem, therefore, that there is no objection to a publican keeping a room in his house for other people to bet in, in the same way as betting is practised at the Clubs; but he must not bet with his customers himself, nor allow anyone else to use the house for the purpose of betting with all comers.
In Sim v. Page[[423]] it was held that licensed victuallers are still liable to be proceeded against, under the Gaming and Betting House Acts, notwithstanding this Statute see section 59.
BETTING IN A PUBLIC PLACE.
By 5 George IV., c. 83, section 4, any person playing or betting in any street, road, highway or other open or public place, at or with any table or instrument of gaming, at any game or pretended game of chance, shall be deemed a rogue and vagabond.
Instruments of gaming.
In Watson v. Martin[[424]] it was held that tossing for halfpence was not within the statute. To supplement this defect in the statute, by 31 & 32 Vict., c. 52, section 3, the words “coin, card, token or other article used as an instrument or means of such wagering or gaming,” are added so as to include pitch and toss. But in Hirst v. Molesbury[[425]] it was held that the latter statute did not apply to a deposit of money by a person in the hands of another, in a public place, to abide the event of a wager.
In Tollett v. Thomas,[[426]] defendant was on a race course, and had a machine called a pari-mutuel. This machine had on it numbers, beside each of which were three holes, and behind these holes were figures which by a mechanical contrivance were made to shift on the turning of a key, so that any number from 0 to 999 would be exhibited behind these holes. On the top of the machine was the word “total,” and beside it were holes in which could be exhibited in similar manner figures shifting on the turn of a key. The defendant appropriated each of these numbers to designate a horse about to run in a race. Any person who wished to bet on a particular horse, deposited with the appellants half-a-crown, and received a ticket with the number of the horse. The defendants then by a turn of the key altered the figures, increasing the sum indicated alongside that number by one, and the same turn of the key increased the figure beside “total” by one.
After the race had been run, the holders of tickets with the numbers of the winning horse had divided among them all the half-crowns deposited, less 10 per cent. which defendants retained as their profit.
Held (1) That this was an instrument of wagering or gaming within the Act. (2) That as the amount to be won depended on an event other than the issue of the race (i.e., it varied according to the number of persons who backed a particular horse), it was a game of chance. It was like a lottery, which (semble at p. 514) would be a game of chance within the act.