Examination of Witnesses (Questions 260
- 263)
THURSDAY 16 NOVEMBER 2000
MR STEVE
ROBERTS, MR
ROGER WITHERS
AND MR
RICHARD BOARDLEY
260. With skill?
(Mr Withers) I must admit I sent them a cheque once
a year. I think we can go so far. Again with, I think, a single
regulatory authority, for example, one of the things we would
like to introduce is the equivalent of a Quick Pick, which is
a National Lottery term. If you do not want to pick your own numbers,
you tick the thing which says Quick Pick and the computer picks,
in this instance, six numbers for you. In our instance it would
have to be ten because you have to perm eight from ten which is
all fairly complicated. Of course that really would be stretching
the law just a little bit and we would then be straying across
the line. A single regulatory authority and we could say "Look,
we are here, yes it is a commercial organisation. We do still
give substantial sums to the Foundation for Sport and the Arts
and the Football Foundation. Is it worthwhile, this sort of a
sensible relaxation?" I think we could come to that accommodation.
Chairman: I think, Christopher, that
if you believe that the vast number of people who used to play
the pools were fully acquainted with football form then you are
living in a world of great illusion.
Mr Fraser: I did not say that, Chairman.
Chairman: The way in which people fill
in their forms can be as capricious as the votes cast for you
at the General Election.
Mr Fraser
261. I would like to have the last word, Chairman.
When you read the minutes of this inquiry today, neither Mr Maxton
nor Mr Kaufman are correct, mine was simply an inquiry because
on the face of it it looks more complicated and there are no better
people than your own constituents to give you their opinion about
one system versus another, regardless of their understanding of
it.
(Mr Withers) We do have a dilemma, Chairman, in that
clearly we do now have the freedom to advertise, sadly it is not
commercially viable for us to do so. For example, freedom to advertise
is not total. We are not allowed, again by a little quirk, to
sponsor the football results at five o'clock on a Saturday. Cadbury's
are allowed to sponsor Coronation Street and Daz, Emmerdale Farm,
but we are not allowed to put a little banner up saying "Here
are the football results sponsored by Vernons or Littlewoods and
dividends this week ..." You always get the thing "dividends
this week are high or low" but it is completely anonymous.
If you came off the Planet Zog—
262. Which they have.
(Mr Withers) It is nowhere near Dorset, I must say,
Chairman. If you did come off the Planet Zog the fact is that
you would see these results on a Saturday afternoon and you would
think "What are they talking about".
263. Hence my point.
(Mr Withers) We would love the freedom, Sir, to be
able to sponsor those results and tell people what we are talking
about.
Mr Maxton: They would say that about
football generally.
Chairman: It does strike me as absolutely
barmy when I see who sponsors what. I see Ryan Air sponsors the
Sky weather forecast and they have to fly through it.
Mr Maxton: Barbados Tourist Board does
broadcast on Channel 5.
Chairman: We must stop there. We did
promise Mr Fraser the last word. Both of us have been terrible
at violating that so I think we had better stop at this point.
Thank you very much indeed. We will be interested to see any information
you would like to give us.
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