The law relating to betting, time-bargains and gaming

by George Herbert Stutfield; Henry Strother Cautley

(a.) As to what amounts to user, the following cases seem to show that it is not necessary to show that a place is habitually used for illegal betting; and that one or two instances proved will be enough to enable the case to be decided as a question of fact by the magistrates or the jury.

A club.

Thus the case of Oldham v. Ramsden[^[372]] goes to show how far a club at which betting is extensively practised, and in which there was a separate room kept for betting purposes, comes within the Act. Plaintiff was commission agent, and in the habit of making bets for other persons: he was also a member of a club at Manchester called “the Ellesmere,” which consisted of over 1,400 members. It had one room in which betting took place, and in the others were refreshments and cards. In the betting room the bets were only made between members, and no money was paid by way of deposit. The defendant, who was not a member, employed the plaintiff to back certain horses at certain races. The plaintiff did so by taking the odds against these horses with members of the club, and he informed the defendant of the bets having been so made. The horses lost, and plaintiff having paid the losses sought to recover from defendant. The defendant pleaded that the plaintiff paid the money to and it was received by the owner, occupier or keeper of a certain house, office, room or other place opened, kept and used for the purpose of money being received upon an undertaking to pay money on the event of horse-races by the owner, &c., as the plaintiff well knew, and that the money was paid by the plaintiff to such owner, &c., for the purposes of betting, or on a deposit on a bet. This plea was evidently framed in the provisions of section 1 of the Act.

The only point really decided was whether this club was a place used and kept by the owner or occupier for the purposes of betting.

For the plaintiff (supporting, of course, the legality of the establishment), it was argued that it was not shown that any money was paid to the owner or occupier in respect of these bets. The plaintiff was not owner; it was only one member betting with another.

For the defendant, on the other hand, that it was sufficient that money was received by “persons using the same,” which words did not mean persons acting on behalf of the proprietor. Also that the members were “occupiers” of the club within the Act, so that the receipt by one member from another in respect of a bet would bring the case within the Act.

One member gave evidence that he made a bet with plaintiff, and was paid by him at the club.

The Court held that there was no evidence that this was a place kept or used for the purposes of betting.

It will be observed that this was a very concrete decision and did not go far towards explaining what cases are and what cases are not within the Act.

Enclosures.