The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1936-09-09
Today's Sports
Parade
Nv HENRY McLEMORE

UNITED Press STAFF Correspondent
London, Sept. 9-(UP)-Ounce Tor
ounce Cor would 1t be nearer to say
pound for pound the English are
the biggest gambling suckers IN the
world.
They'll bet on anything, be 1t their
weather. which is highly uncertain,
10 Rreyhounds at outlaw, which Is
even more so. The actual figures on
what this nation spends n year in
betting will never be known, but a
hint as TO what fantastic sum It
must be is gained from the fact
thtt between $i5,000,0o0 and 500
100000 q week Is wagered on foot
ball alone.
And the football season isn't a
brief one. 1t runs for eight long
months, which means that before
tho league schedules are completed
In April, England's citizens will have
wagered something like $l6o, 900
on the sport.
Betting on football is done through
pools, OF which there are more than
100 varieties operating In London
alone. The English pools bear only
q faint resemblance to our football
pools, which are illegal and oper-
ated IN O haphazard, catch as catch
can fashion. They work on the
same principle, namely that the
sucker must pick so many winners
or ties to cash In on his investment
but there the resemblance ends.
The English pools are highly le-
gal, in the first place. Parliament
saw to that last year when, after
stormy debates, they were brought
under the protective wings OF the
law. II isn't much Of a secret why
pools were legalized. The govern
ments revenue take on postage
money orders is q highly worth
while sum. In the second place,
English pools are conducted exactly
like the big businesses they are.
The offlces OF the bigger operators
would do credit TO steel corpora
ton. They have beautifully APP
pointed reception halls, clerical
STATS Of hundreds and morning
coated oficials. They advertise ex-
tensively In all periodicals and have
scores Of agents working In all parts
Of the country.
It was brought out during par
liament's debates on the subject
that one OF the bigger pools took In
between half.milion and o million
dollars q week. Under the law, OPP
orators are allowed to make 10 per
cent of the gross. This 10 per cent
constitutes clear profit, for over
head expenses do not have to come
out Of this. 1t is taken from the
remaining 90 per cent. What is left,
usually about 80 per cent Of the
gross, Is divided among the winners,
Pools are not exclusive, but aimed
ut the masses and bets as small as
two pennies are gladly accepted. AS
q result. no one is overlooked, not
even children with candy money.
Pools are Of ell sorts. Some fur
nisll q list Of so or more games with
returns depending on the number OF
winners checked. Others list only
10 OF is games and they pay of at
q higher rate, as only the tightest
and closest contests are included
still others work on some sort OF
point system whereby the picking
Of home teams is good for one point
visiting teams two points, ties three
points. In all cases ties count as q
loss and as ties are much more COM
mon In English football than in the
American game, the chances OF
picking 10 winners from q list con-
tanning as many as so games are very
slight.
One outgrowth Of the pools Is
football form sheets which are sup
posed to aid bettors in their selec-
tons. These are sold everywhere
and this English so for them just
IS avidiy rs American race track
suckers for tout sheets.
Copyright. 1896, by United Press