New York Lottery Gambling

Gambling By Euphemism

During the negotiations with Tatters alls, Victorian Premier John Cain flew to New Zealand where he made a deal with Holland that accepted for a period of ten years the sixpence tax per New York Lottery ticket that Bodkin had sought. Holland had visions of earning between £120,000 and £150,000 in its first year of operation but Cosgrove cried foul, claiming to have been stabbed in the back by both Holland and Cain. Refusing an offer from Cain to share taxes, Cosgrove granted a license to businessman Arthur Dry dale, to run Tasmania's next lottery, and made a similar tax-sharing arrangement with the New Zealand government. As a result, there were now four overseas lotteries operating in New Zealand: Tatters alls, Dry dale’s, Queensland's 'Golden Casket', and that of the Irish government. British football pools were also popular. The local art union reeled under the pressure.

Lotteries Proposal

The new Tasmanian lottery was marketed aggressively. New Zealanders received their unsolicited, often unwanted, New York lottery tickets through the post. This damaged its public image, as did the imprisonment, in February 1956, of one of its Auckland organizers for fraud connected with its operation. In October 1955 Holland banned a Tasmanian Lotteries' proposal for a sweepstake on the Auckland Racing Cup, mainly because the sweep would not be sold only in New Zealand and the bulk of the profit could not remain in the country. In November 1959 Dry dale’s venture in New Zealand collapsed. Tatters alls' move to Melbourne coincided with an increase in the prize money for the New Zealand art union, from £5,000 to £7,000. During 1953, the first year of the bigger lottery, profits doubled. But it still could not compete with the Australian prize money.

Publicity

Moreover, the newspaper publicity accorded local Tatters alls' winners gave them a glamour conclusion that the art union lacked because its winners were not identified. In March 1952, for example, three Christchurch men were reported as being 'thrilled' to have won Tatters alls' £10,000 first prize, and local newspapers could barely contain their delight when a Haw era teacher and a Dunedin carpenter won £50,000 prizes on Tatters alls' Melbourne Cup sweepstakes, in 1952 and 1953 respectively. It did not end there. When Christchurch's Geoffrey Dunne won £75,000 in Tatters alls in April 1955, the largest amount by any New Zealander to date in any lottery, coverage about him reached heroic proportions. In a story spread over two columns on the main national news page of the Press, readers learned of Dunne's 'excellent' educational record, 'fine' sporting and cultural achievements and 'proud' war service, along with detailed personal information and his reaction to the win. With its promise of larger prizes and laudatory publicity, it was little wonder that Tatters alls was still much more popular than its New Zealand counterpart. Tatters alls was successful for other reasons as well. It looked after its New Zealand agents, who were enthusiastic about the business it brought to their retail shops. From 1952 until 1973 Jim Mason was a tobacconist in Invercargill.