The Victorian Bookmakers Association has moved to confirm its commitment to the National Code of Practice for Australian Bookmakers for the responsible provision of wagering services.

Former Chairman of the VBA Mr Gavin Marantelli said that "the National Code was developed to promote guidelines and programmes for the responsible delivery of the wagering product."

"The code included an agreement by bookmakers to provide wagering services in a manner that encourages responsible wagering patterns and behaviour with a commitment to assist patrons who experience wagering related difficulties with information on, and direction to, appropriate support services."

"The Code of Practice is a voluntary code that operates in conjunction with Government legislation, regulations and the rules of the racing codes and sports betting authorities."

Marantelli said that "a key component of the National Code of Practice for Australian bookmakers was the commitment of wagering providers to be scrupulous in the maintenance of privacy issues in respect of
customer transactions."

LEADING PERSONALITIES OF THE UK RING PASS AWAY
Well known UK bookmaker Dickie Gaskell died in May aged 77.

Ladbrokes' representative on the rails for a 15 year period during the 1960's and '70's, Gaskell - the son of a Newmarket based trainer - began his career in racing on a stud before turning to bookmaking.

Working as the northern representative of Laurie Wallis during the early 1950's, Gaskell then established his own business - Stafford and Co - which he sold to Ladbrokes in 1960.

Later becoming a Ladbrokes director, Gaskell in 1975 became adviser to the company's chairman on public relations matters and he continued on the rails at major meetings until his retirement in the late 1980's.

Gaskell is remembered for laying many a big bet over his career, including what was an astounding amount in 1964 - £20,000 at 5-1 over Out And About to the horse's owner in a race at Cheltenham. The horse
did not win.

The Royal Ascot meeting of 1973 was also a memorable one for Gaskell, the prominent bookmaker winning £550,000 for Ladbrokes.

Meanwhile John Banks, aged 68, has also passed away.

A successful racehorse owner and Chairman of the Rails Bookmakers Association, Banks is remembered for his legendary battles with the major off course firms and many major wins and losses during the 1960's and '70's.

As big a racing personality as the leading trainers and jockeys of the time, Banks gained publicity with his famous line - the description of betting shops as "a licence to print money."

Losing £80,000 when Persian War took out the Champion Hurdle, Banks showed himself anything but a sore loser - sending a bottle of champagne to the horse's owner Henry Alper's table as they dined in the same hotel that evening.

Enjoying big race success with his own horses, Banks cheered home Katmandu in the 1969 Royal Hunt Cup -
the winner ridden by Lester Piggott. Upon being asked how much he had won he said "I don't know how much we had on - we're still counting!"

Warned off for three years in 1978, Banks was found to have brought racing into disrepute after allegations that he had regular contact with champion jumps jockey John Francome but he always denied that any information was exchanged.

Banks was born in Glasgow where he kicked off his racing career as a runner for the then illegal street bookmakers. He started a legal operation at a local greyhound track before moving on to horse racing. By
the late 1960's he had built up quite the empire, his 24 betting shops selling for a reputed million pounds.

A gambler by nature, Banks was always willing to back up his own opinion, giving generous odds for horses he was happy to lay - often to the chagrin of Ladbrokes and other big bookmaking companies.

TELEPHONE BET MININUMS COME DOWN
The Victoria Government has continued its promised assistance to bookmakers with another reduction of the minimum telephone bet - the minimum bet on metropolitan races with Victorian bookmakers dropping from $200 to $50.

The acting Racing Minister Andre Haermeyer said the latest reduction was "the penultimate step in the phasing out of minimum bet limits with Victorian bookmakers," - a zero limit to be in place by next year.

No limits are currently in place for provincial race meetings as well as for harness and greyhound races and even the new limit in town is flexible with punters able to place bets of less than $50 if the return is $500
or more.

BHB CHAIRMAN CALLS FOR LOOK AT BETTING EXCHANGES
British Horseracing Board Chairman Peter Savill has sent out an "urgent plea" to the UK Government to "set up an independent commission of inquiry into betting exchanges," the Racing Post reported recently.

Pointing out that issues surrounding exchanges are of "critical importance" to the industry, he claimed - in a
speech entitled "The Impact of Betting Exchanges on Horseracing," that "nothing less than the future of one of
Britain's most prestigious sports and industries, and one of the greatest contributors to Government revenues, is at stake."

He noted that of particular concern is the fact that punters can now use betting exchanges to lay, therefore making a profit of horses losing. Worrying that this threatens the integrity of the sport, he mentioned that the
Australian Government had set up a National Task Force, saying that Britain should do likewise.

"Betting exchanges have, for the first time ever, suddenly and immediately enfranchised 30 million plus people in Britain to make money out of horses losing races," he said.

"Previously there were only 3,791 people - the number of on-course and off-course bookmakers with permits who had passed the 'fit & proper person' test - who were so enfranchised."