There are, so far as I know, no official statistics
regarding betting, and any unofficial estimates are obviously open to fair challenge. It may be doubted whether the promoters of football pools would ascribe authority to the figures of the Christian Social Council. But the figures, whatever they may be worth, are arresting. It is computed that the money changing hands annually over football pools is L50,000,000 ; over dog-racing f5o,000,000, through gaming-machines Eto,000,000, and through the totalisator (on horse-racing) ,(8,000,000. The total annual turnover is put at something between £350,000,000 and k500,000,000, the difference between the lower total and the sum of the individual figures quoted being presumably represented by ordinary betting on horse-racing. Even if all the figures are dismissed as lacking adequate authority they do at least give some idea of the magnitude of the sums which plutocratic and penniless (or almost) citizens alike are prepared to stake on chances. They hope to win, but they are prepared to lose ; the great majority of them do lose. If the State said to every one of them " You will probably be a loser ; we will assume you are one, and take your money for beneficial public purposes," they could hardly complain that they were being robbed. But it is not very easy to see how the State could do it.
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