Sir, - Two separate items in your paper of last Saturday (March 7th) encapsulate the total lack of understanding of the betting industry which seems to affect many people outside it.

A letter from the Alliance for Racing and Breeding states rather bizarrely that a raising of the rate of betting duty would benefit bookmakers. However, just preceding this, an article appears which predicts between 2,500 and 3,500 job losses and the decimation of betting shops should the rate of duty be increased.