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══════════════════【立報】═══════════════════ |
| 教 育 專 題 深 入 報 導《2005-07-08》 |
| 本期內容 | |
| ◎ 吃角子老虎機 蠱惑俄羅斯 | |
| ◎ 俄羅斯開賭場 包賺不賠 | |
| ◎ 賭客川流不息 南非賭博業帶來社會問題 | |
| ◎ 台灣立報徵文啟事 | |
| 吃角子老虎機 蠱惑俄羅斯 | |
| 策劃、編譯■成怡夏 | |
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Moscow declares war on gambling 摘要 克里姆林宮日前向幾世紀以來蠱惑俄羅斯人，並讓俄羅斯人赤貧的一項惡習宣戰，那項惡習過去誘惑俄國小說家杜斯妥也夫斯基（Fyodor Dostoevsky，著有《賭徒》一書，描寫自己賭博的心情），到今日莫斯科街頭的計程車司機與路邊花攤老婦人：那就是賭博。 官方表示，這場「瘟疫」是從前蘇聯於1991年解體後就開始掃蕩整個俄羅斯，尤以被稱為「東方的拉斯維加斯」之莫斯科，問題格外嚴重。 莫斯科市市長魯茲科夫日前表示，情況已經變得超出控制範圍，並形容莫斯科人沉溺賭博簡直已到「毫無節制的放縱，以及道德淪喪之地步」。他的話標示了政府企圖壓制賭風的開始。執政的團結俄羅斯黨兩名具影響力之國會議員已開始起草一份法案，將強迫所有賭博處所必須遠離住宅區至少一公里以上，同時莫斯科當局也計劃引入過去一直闕如的賭博營業執照。 俄國人對賭博的愛好清楚可見──閃閃發光有著霓虹招牌的賭場擠滿位於莫斯科市中心的普希金廣場，吃角子老虎機則幾乎佈滿在每一個地鐵站，就連餐館與麵包店也都開始出現它們的蹤影。官員表示，這座城市目前已經有56家賭場，超過2千家電動玩具店，以及超過7萬台吃角子老虎機。俄羅斯每年賭博業就營收40億元，在莫斯科，每170人就有一台吃角子老虎機；而一般來說每年有2百萬莫斯科人出入電動玩具店。 莫斯科市議會副議長安德瑞‧麥特爾斯基表示，這些賭博機器以不正當的方式操縱並對民眾「搶劫」，許多人深受其害。 莫斯科市想要限制電玩店的數目，並引進相關法律以及對賭博業課以懲罰性的營業稅，好讓從事這些行業的人無利可圖。官員表示，那些窮人把自己的最後一分盧布拿來賭博，而不是用來買食物吃。「賭博之於市民，就像酒精和毒品一般有害。莫斯科的年輕世代已經被賭博侵害，我們無法坐視不顧。」麥特爾斯基這麼說。 （資料來源／英國獨立報） 原文 The Kremlin has declared war on a vice that has bewitched and impoverished Russians for centuries, ensnaring those from Fyodor Dostoevsky to modern-day Moscow cab drivers and babushkas: gambling. Though officials say that the "plague" has spread across Russia since the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, it is in Moscow, known as the Las Vegas of the East, where they be-lieve the problem is most acute.The capital's powerful Mayor, Yuri Luzhkov, said recently that the situation had become untenable, de-scribing Moscow's gambling addiction as "unbridled debauchery and moral abase-ment". His words signal the beginning of a crackdown. Two influential ?MPs from the governing United Russia party have drafted a bill that would force all gambling establish-ments to relocate at least one kilometre out-side residential areas. And Moscow is plan-ning to introduce what the city currently lacks: any form of licensing of gambling. Muscovites' love of gambling is plain to see. Flashy neon-lit casinos crowd its central Pushkin Square, and slot machines have tak-en root in almost every metro station. They have even begun to spring up in food stores and bakeries. Officials say that the city now boasts 56 casinos, more than 2,000 gaming halls and up to 70,000 slot machines. The annual turnover of Russia's gambling business is put at $4bn, and in Moscow there is said to be one slot machine per 170 peo-ple. Two million Muscovites frequent gam-ing halls.Andrei Metelsky, deputy chairman of the Moscow City Parliament, says that machines have been rigged to "rob" people and argues that it is the vulnerable who are suffering the most. The city wants to restrict the number of gaming halls, introduce licensing laws and bring in punitive taxes to make these busi-nesses unprofitable. Officials say that the poor gamble away their last roubles rather than spend the money on food. "Gambling is bad for citizens just as alcohol and drugs are. Moscow's young generation is being de-stroyed and we cannot allow that," Mr Me-telsky said. |
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| （回目錄） | |
| 俄羅斯開賭場 包賺不賠 | |
| 策劃、編譯■成怡夏 | |
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Gambling Industry Ex-plodes In Russia 摘要 位在莫斯科霓虹閃爍的諾微‧阿貝特大街之新賭場「安加拉」是最近開張的賭場，業者算準俄羅斯人對賭博可說是毫無抵抗力，開授賭場包賺不賠。這家賭場是在今年2月開幕，地板上放著32張桌子和69台吃角子老虎機，室內以紅色地毯、深色木料裝潢，並以燈光營造19世紀紳士俱樂部的氣氛。 在棕色厚布簾後面是貴賓室，那裡被稱為「研究室」與「圖書室」，裡面的最低賭金為2百美元。賭場也舉行鬥雞與比腕力的比賽。 33歲的米凱爾‧庫斯坦諾維克接受訪問時表示：「是個好地方，不錯。」他形容自己是個愛肆意揮霍的人，喜歡玩21點和撲克牌，「在莫斯科機會非常多。」他說。 過去3年，賭風橫掃整個俄羅斯，特別是在莫斯科。從像安加拉這樣的豪華賭場，到騎樓一角只要一盧布就可以玩的吃角子老虎機，幾乎佈滿了整座城市。 安加拉賭場的市場行銷主任尤利亞‧德艾齊納說：「這項商機才剛剛起步。」另一家豪華賭場預定在明年於阿貝特街開張，根據市政府統計，幾乎每一天在騎樓一角都會增加一台新的吃角子老虎機。分析家表示，以目前的速率增加，莫斯科市的吃角子老虎遊戲機數目在未來兩年內可突破10萬台。 分析家表示，這些現象是被高達4成的利潤所驅動的。分析家指出，一架投幣式吃角子老虎遊戲機一個月可以回收7百到1千美元。 賭博幾乎不受限制的發展（特別是吃角子老虎機快速增加），已經造成政策制定者的困擾，甚至有業者擔心公眾的反彈可能會造成政府當局的禁止。 2002年，俄羅斯國會下議院給了負責體育與文化發展的部門發行賭博執照的權利，把職權下放到各城市與地方政府。過去3年，該部門在全俄羅斯核發了至少4千張執照。每張執照大約50美金，並允許業者開設多樣性的賭場，或是在任何地方的騎樓下設吃角子老虎機。 「賭博就像癌症一樣蔓延。」俄羅斯賭博發展協會的副會長撒母耳‧布萊德表示：「在市場、店鋪、車站、甚至是公寓的建築內都有吃角子老虎機，這完全搞壞了賭博的形象，這也是為什麼大部分人痛恨賭博的原因。」 市政府官員相信，有犯罪集團涉入賭場經營，但是卻完全無法控制這種情況。 靠近奇維火車站的地區就是一個好例子。3年前，這裡只有4台吃角子老虎機，現在這裡卻有接近50家電玩店，許多家都是24小時不打烊經營。 「這些機器到處都是，很難走過去卻不受誘惑。」29歲的建築工人安德瑞‧奇姆寇維斯基表示，他常常玩吃角子老虎：「我曾經一天輸掉1千5百盧布，對我來說，可是一筆大數目。」這筆錢相當於53美元。 對此，有政策制定者建議俄羅斯乾脆建立自己的拉斯維加斯，把這些賭場集中到北極圈以北。 （資料來源／華盛頓郵報） 原文 The new Casino Angara on Moscow's neon-flooded Novy Arbat street is the lat-est bet that this country's love affair with gambling is a sure thing. The casino, which opened in February, has 32 tables and 69 slot machines on a floor that is aiming for a 19th century gentleman's-club atmosphere with its red carpeting, dark wood paneling and lamp light. The VIP rooms behind heavy brown cur-tains, where the minimum bet is $200, are called the "The Study" and "The "Library." The casino also stages cock fights and arm-wrestling. "Nice place. Not bad," said Mikhail Kus-tanovic, 33, a self-described high roller who favors blackjack and poker. "But in Moscow there is so much choice." Gambling has exploded in Russia in the last three years, particularly in Moscow. A $5 billion annual business, it draws punters to ritzy establishments like the Angara, but also to the one-ruble slots in small arcades that increasingly dot city neighborhoods. There are 58 casinos, 2,000 gaming rooms and approximately 70,000 slot machines in Moscow, according to city officials. In 2002, before the laws governing the licensing of gambling places were changed, there were 30 casinos and 20,000 slot machines. "This business has just started to grow," said Yulia Drynkina, marketing director of the Angara. Another luxury casino is slated to open on the Arbat next year, and a new ar-cade opens in Moscow almost every day, ac-cording to city officials. Analysts say that at the current rate of growth, the number of slot machines in the city could rise to 100,000 in the next two years. It is all driven by profit margins that can reach 40 percent, according to analysts. The return on one slot machine is be-tween $700 and $1,000 a month, according to indus-try analysts. The industry's almost unrestricted development, especially the proliferation of slot machines in residen-tial areas, has begun to trouble lawmakers and even some in the gambling industry who fear that a public backlash could lead to a ban. "This is total debauch-ery," said Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov, in a television interview this month. "I am for any radical solution to this problem." In 2002, the lower house of the Russian parliament, the State Duma, gave a federal a-gency responsible for the development of sports and culture the right to issue gambling licenses, removing that authority from city or regional governments. In the last three years, the agency has issued at least 4,000 licenses in Russia. The licenses cost about $50 each and allow their owners to open multiple casi-nos or arcades anywhere in the country, ac-cording to city officials and a gaming indus-try trade group. "It exploded like a cancer," said Samuel Binder, vice president of the Russian Associ-ation for the Development of the Gambling Business, a group that represents larger oper-ators in Russia. "There are machines in mar-kets, shops, stations, even in apartment buildings. It's spoiling the image of gam-bling. That's why most people hate us." City officials believe criminal groups are involved in the gam-bling industry but do not entirely control it. The area around the Kiev rail-way station in Moscow exemplifies the surge in betting. Three years a-go, there were four arcades in the area; today there are close to 50 gaming rooms, many of them operating around the clock. "These machines are all over the place, it's hard to walk around without being tempted," said Andrei Chimkovsky, 29, a construction worker and frequent slot player. "I've lost 1,500 rubles in one day, which is a lot of money for me." That's equivalent to about $53. The Duma and several regional parlia-ments, including Moscow, are considering new legislation that would limit or effective-ly ban the industry. A bill before the Duma would bar gaming within about 500 yards of a residential area, which would force opera-tors out of all urban areas in the country. One lawmaker suggested the gambling industry consider creating its own Las Vegas, north of the Arctic Circle. Lobbyists for the gaming industry have beaten back federal legislation before. But a bill in the Moscow state parliament, which many people see as viable, would fix the number of gambling establishments in each of Moscow's 120 districts to four, with eight allowed in the city center. The Russian Supreme Court recently upheld the right of another Russian region to limit gambling even if operators have already received a federal license. Moscow legislators are con-fident that they can also push through new regulations. |
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| （回目錄） | |
| 賭客川流不息 南非賭博業帶來社會問題 | |
| 策劃、編譯■成怡夏 | |
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南非兩年多來開放博奕業，賭場到處設立，彩券全國風行，使博奕業成為南非最興盛、也是最賺錢的行業。南非全國發出40張賭場執照，賭場到處可見，僅約堡附近便有4家豪華賭場，日夜賭客川流不息。全國性的樂透彩券每週發行一次，每期可售出數千萬張，一般平民百姓已不重視儲蓄，僅依賴買幾張彩券或到賭場一試身手，盼望迅速致富。估計南非人民一年全國各賭場的賭金總額估計為75億元。 目前賭博已成為南非重大的社會問題，賭場為爭取生意，還派車接運一些老人到賭場賭博，把他們賴以維生的養老金給輸光了。南非林立的賭場造成無數問題，雖然南非政府一再表示將檢討賭博政策，但未見具體行動。賭場了解外界的不滿與批評，則一再透過廣告宣傳賭場的「貢獻」，指出賭場造就鄰近地區繁榮，創造就業機會，為政府帶來大筆稅收。 業者一般都引進外資，除建賭場外，也附加豪華旅館、購物中心、遊樂場、餐飲店與電影院等。由於投資龐大，並提供地方政府大筆稅收，因此南非政府要改變賭博政策恐怕並不容易。設立賭場之後，表面上城市裡人來人往，附近似乎變得繁榮，但賭場藏污納垢，黑社會和逃犯往往會藏身其中，從而衍生治安問題。 （http://www.epochtimes.com） 解除禁令 星國斥資開賭場 策劃、編譯■成怡夏 不理會國內強烈的反對聲音，宣布撤銷40年的賭禁，並將耗資50億新加坡元在國內興建兩個世界級賭場度假村，藉此改善其古板國家形象，並帶動旅遊業發展。 新加坡總理李顯龍在4月中旬宣布，在國際競爭日熾下，新加坡同意開設賭場、並廣徵企劃書，藉此提振觀光事業。新加坡將在濱海灣和聖淘沙各興建一座包含賭場在內的綜合娛樂城。星國政府預計年底發出執照，讓兩個耗資共50億新元（新台幣一千億元）的賭場綜合娛樂城在2009年運作，且至少製造3萬5千個就業機會。 李顯龍說，雖然新加坡旅客人數一直在增加，但市場佔有率卻持續下降，由1993年的13.1％，降到2002年的6％。李顯龍表示，賭場在娛樂城內將只佔總面積的極小數，但有了賭場，整個娛樂城的營運費就有著落，政府也無需為娛樂城計畫另撥款 |
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| （回目錄） | |
| 台灣立報徵文啟事 | |
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| （回目錄） | |
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