The case of Sutters v. Briggs, decided by the House
of Lords on Tuesday, will be remembered by those who back horses. For the Law Lords were agreed that the Gaming Act of 1835, and earlier statutes, applied to cheques paid in settlement of betting losses, and that such cheques, being given for an illegal consideration, were null and void. Anyone who has paid his betting debts by cheque within the past six years is thus entitled to recover the money. It may, indeed, bo said that executors, trustees, and administrators in bankruptcy arc bound to sue for the return of the moneys paid by cheque for gaming losses by the persons for whose estates they are responsible. As vast sums change hands every week in the betting world, the decision has caused consternation. But the law was perfectly clear to those who cared to look into the matter. It is a strange thing that the question has not been raised before.
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