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Clocks will be one of Britain's weapons against problem gambling when it is employed to help gamblers keep track of time.
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Clocks will be one of Britain's weapons against problem gambling when itliberalizesthe sector, allowing a new wave of large Las Vegas-style casinos across the country, the government said last Thursday.
Traditionally, casinos have avoided giving customers clues to how long they've been gambling,spurningclocks and often shutting out sunlight in the early hours of the morning.
But draft gambling rules Thursday set out measures to combat addiction and crime, including licenses for finance and managing directors, a ban on free drinks and measures to help gamblerskeep track of time.
"Casino and bingo operators must introduce measures to control continuous and repetitive play, such as designing sites and implementing procedures to encourage breaks in play and making customers aware of the time they have spent gambling," said the Gambling Commission.
A spokeswoman said the measures might include clocks on walls, timers and alerts on machines and breaks in play.
"Alcohol must not be used as an inducement to encourage people to gamble," added the Commission.
The new gambling acttakes full effectfrom September 2007 and will allow 17 new casinoson top ofthe current 140, one of them a giant supercasino.
The Commission estimated annual UK gambling turnover, including the lottery, at about 53 billion pounds .
Tessa Jowell, the minister in charge of gambling, said gambling should not be treated like any other industry.
"What can be a harmless pastime for one person can be a life-destroying addiction for another," she said.
(Agencies) |
英國(guó)政府上周四表示，在放開(kāi)對(duì)賭博業(yè)限制，允許在全國(guó)范圍新開(kāi)一些拉斯韋加斯式大賭場(chǎng)的同時(shí)，在賭場(chǎng)內(nèi)掛放鐘表將成為預(yù)防問(wèn)題賭博的手段之一。
為了避免讓顧客知道自己在賭場(chǎng)里耗了多久，賭場(chǎng)歷來(lái)不安置鐘表，并杜絕讓清晨的陽(yáng)光射進(jìn)室內(nèi)。
但周四的賭博法草案規(guī)定，政府要采取措施抵制賭"癮"行為和賭博犯罪。法案規(guī)定賭場(chǎng)財(cái)務(wù)和管理人員必須申請(qǐng)牌照，禁止賭場(chǎng)發(fā)放免費(fèi)飲品，采取措施讓賭徒有時(shí)間觀念。
賭博業(yè)委員會(huì)說(shuō)，賭場(chǎng)經(jīng)營(yíng)者必須采取措施控制無(wú)節(jié)制的賭博行為，比如，他們得設(shè)置一些場(chǎng)地、安排一些程序，鼓勵(lì)在游戲中間停下來(lái)休息，同時(shí)，賭場(chǎng)得讓顧客意識(shí)到他們?cè)谫€場(chǎng)里耗了多久。
一位女發(fā)言人說(shuō)，這些措施包括在墻上掛置時(shí)鐘，在賭場(chǎng)內(nèi)放置計(jì)時(shí)器或警報(bào)器等裝置，在賭博其間規(guī)定休息時(shí)間。
賭博業(yè)委員同時(shí)表示："賭場(chǎng)不得用酒精吸引顧客賭博。"
新的賭博法案將于2007年9月全面生效，屆時(shí)，除了現(xiàn)有的140個(gè)賭場(chǎng)外，政府將再開(kāi)設(shè)17個(gè)新賭場(chǎng)，其中包括一個(gè)超大型賭場(chǎng)。
據(jù)賭博業(yè)委員會(huì)估計(jì)，每年，英國(guó)包括彩票在內(nèi)的賭博營(yíng)業(yè)額是5300萬(wàn)英鎊。
負(fù)責(zé)賭博業(yè)的部長(zhǎng)泰薩·喬威爾說(shuō)，賭博業(yè)不同于其它行業(yè)，應(yīng)該特別對(duì)待。
她說(shuō)："對(duì)一些人來(lái)說(shuō)，賭博也許是一項(xiàng)無(wú)害的娛樂(lè)活動(dòng)；但對(duì)另一些人來(lái)說(shuō)，它可能成為毀滅一個(gè)人一生的毒品。"
(中國(guó)日?qǐng)?bào)網(wǎng)站編譯)
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Updated: 2006-03-13 09:53
