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yorbcbud
Lounge Wizard
Joined: 17 Feb 2006
Posts: 4903
Location: Сорренто, Британская Колумбия, Канада
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 Posted: Thu Dec 21, 2006 11:55 am Post subject: Gambling in Russia |
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Russia would send gamblers to Siberia
Duma outlaws gaming in all but the most remote regions of the nation
By ALEX NICHOLSON
Associated Press
MOSCOW - Garish or goofy or grim, Russia's casinos and slot-machine halls are some of the most vivid testimony to communism's collapse.
But, under legislation approved Wednesday by Russia's lower house of parliament, the $6 billion industry is to be driven out of Moscow, St. Petersburg and most of the rest of Russia.
Once the bill is signed into law, gamblers will have only until mid-2009 to lay their bets in Russia's major cities. After that they'll have to go to a remote part of Siberia or three other regions distant from Moscow.
"These are repressive measures — essentially they amount to a ban," said Yevgeny Kovtun, vice president of the Association of Gambling Businesses, which unites about 30 gaming companies.
With the exception of a drab national lottery, Soviet citizens had no outlet for their speculative urges. That changed with the chaotic arrival of capitalism: Neon-decked casinos sprouted in big cities, some offering prizes of luxury cars or $1 million in cash. Slot-machine halls have appeared throughout the country, sometimes even next to schools.
Russia's oil-driven economic upswing of recent years sent new cash to the gaming tables. But a public backlash has grown.
"This is a business based on vice. It brings no good," said Vladimir Medinsky, deputy chairman of the parliament committee that drafted the legislation.
Industry players say that while limitations are needed, a complete ban except for the gaming zones is harsh and could kill the industry. The restrictions, they say, assume Russians will be ready to jump on a plane and fly to the taiga — the sub-Arctic forest region — to make a bet.
"In the U.S. people know about Las Vegas from childhood, but in Russia gambling tourism doesn't exist," Kovtun said.
According to Kovtun, the restrictions are unnecessary as the market is already cooling: The volume of gaming equipment in use has shrunk by 20 percent in 2006, he said, after showing growth of more than 100 percent in some years.
But Medinsky scoffed at the idea that the industry is faltering.
"You have to be blind or an idiot to say that the market is shrinking," he said. "I'm driving past the Havana cinema right now. Once there was a movie hall here, now half the building has been taken over by a casino." |
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surfguy
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Joined: 13 Apr 2006
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| Posted: Thu Dec 21, 2006 8:40 pm Post subject: |
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| I think it's good that Putin is doing this...Gambling is a waste of money, time, and people's lives. Atlantic City sucks. Vegas had to change it's image, Reno is no wheresville and Russia is doing the right thing at the right time. People in Russia need to save their money and aquire wealth and establish a middle class and build communities instead of gambling thier new found wealth away. |
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surfguy
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Joined: 13 Apr 2006
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| Posted: Thu Dec 21, 2006 8:41 pm Post subject: |
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oh yeah...I'm going to buy my lottery ticket-it's up to 50 million  |
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yorbcbud
Lounge Wizard
Joined: 17 Feb 2006
Posts: 4903
Location: Сорренто, Британская Колумбия, Канада
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| Posted: Thu Dec 21, 2006 9:41 pm Post subject: |
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| surfguy wrote: | | I think it's good that Putin is doing this...Gambling is a waste of money, time, and people's lives. Atlantic City sucks. Vegas had to change it's image, Reno is no wheresville and Russia is doing the right thing at the right time. People in Russia need to save their money and aquire wealth and establish a middle class and build communities instead of gambling thier new found wealth away. |
I do too. I know a lot of people who have lost everything to gambling. I don't know if you guys have them, but we had these things called VLT ( video lottery terminals ) and people were losing everything just sitting in front of them day after day. I buy scratch and wins and nothing more every week or so. Money is too hard to come by, to give it away like that. |
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CarlSpackler
Frequent Guest
Joined: 17 Nov 2006
Posts: 34
Location: Highway 101
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| Posted: Thu Dec 21, 2006 9:46 pm Post subject: |
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| I'm pretty sure some casinos will remain in Moscow as private clubs, the ones that already operate as such, frequently visited by country’s elite… |
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UsualSuspect
WayToRussified
Joined: 08 May 2003
Posts: 324
Location: The Land of Oz
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| Posted: Fri Dec 22, 2006 5:53 am Post subject: Three regions apparently |
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All,
Was watching NTV news last w/e and if I remember correctly the three places being contemplated are around Stalingrad (apologies, having a mental blank on its name, or Rostov), ekaterinburg (sverdlovsk )and somewhere in the Altai (maybe Barnaul? or Novosibirsk?).
This is going to be a disaster like Gorby's attempts at Prohibition. "Private" clubs are going to make a fortune in Mow and St P and I'll guarentee the government isn't going to get much of a slice of that action.
Usualsuspect |
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MrSpice
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Joined: 14 Jul 2003
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| Posted: Fri Dec 22, 2006 10:55 pm Post subject: |
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| yorbcbud wrote: |
I do too. I know a lot of people who have lost everything to gambling. I don't know if you guys have them, but we had these things called VLT ( video lottery terminals ) and people were losing everything just sitting in front of them day after day. I buy scratch and wins and nothing more every week or so. Money is too hard to come by, to give it away like that. |
Just because some retards are losing their money while gambling, does not mean that people should not be allowed to gamble. It's up to an individual to be responsible and spend his money wisely. You cannot legislate everything. There are always many ways to waste money - from lottery to strip clubs to buying expensive goods. |
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yorbcbud
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Joined: 17 Feb 2006
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Location: Сорренто, Британская Колумбия, Канада
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| Posted: Fri Dec 22, 2006 11:11 pm Post subject: |
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| MrSpice wrote: |
Just because some retards are losing their money while gambling, does not mean that people should not be allowed to gamble. It's up to an individual to be responsible and spend his money wisely. You cannot legislate everything. There are always many ways to waste money - from lottery to strip clubs to buying expensive goods. |
Spicey, I always enjoy the compassion in your posts. There are weak people and there are strong people in any society. Is not the job of the government to protect all it's citizens? Do you honestly think that every gambling addict started out as an addict? Yes you can legislate almost everything, right down to wearing a bicycle helmet, or a seat belt. It's not supposed to be every man for himself. The addicts pay taxes too. Do they not have any rights? Or the expectation of help from the government they pay for? Buying expensive things and gambling addictions are not even remotely the same. |
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nikir
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Joined: 17 Mar 2010
Posts: 54
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| Posted: Sat Dec 23, 2006 2:13 am Post subject: |
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| yorbcbud wrote: | | MrSpice wrote: |
Just because some retards are losing their money while gambling, does not mean that people should not be allowed to gamble. It's up to an individual to be responsible and spend his money wisely. You cannot legislate everything. There are always many ways to waste money - from lottery to strip clubs to buying expensive goods. |
Spicey, I always enjoy the compassion in your posts. There are weak people and there are strong people in any society. Is not the job of the government to protect all it's citizens? Do you honestly think that every gambling addict started out as an addict? Yes you can legislate almost everything, right down to wearing a bicycle helmet, or a seat belt. It's not supposed to be every man for himself. The addicts pay taxes too. Do they not have any rights? Or the expectation of help from the government they pay for? Buying expensive things and gambling addictions are not even remotely the same. |
Some people will always succumb to the allure of quick riches and more often than not lose their underpants. That's their problem if they are so weak.
Legislation will only drive the problem underground and put it in the hands of the criminal element. I will not help anyone who doesn't want to be helped.
What it will do is shut down all the small casinos that have sprung up everywhere over the past few years and get rid of the machines that are in every conceivable place they can be installed and being played by children as young as 10. So at least those who can least afford it won't be tempted to part with their last few roubles so readily. |
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yorbcbud
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Joined: 17 Feb 2006
Posts: 4903
Location: Сорренто, Британская Колумбия, Канада
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| Posted: Sat Dec 23, 2006 2:32 am Post subject: |
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| nikir wrote: |
What it will do is shut down all the small casinos that have sprung up everywhere over the past few years and get rid of the machines that are in every conceivable place they can be installed and being played by children as young as 10. So at least those who can least afford it won't be tempted to part with their last few roubles so readily. |
Well that falls under the category of a government helping it's citizens, does it not? We've had our share or problems with Video Lottery Terminals. And taking gambling out of the public eye will take it out of the view of people who might not actually go hunting for it, so you've really just confirmed what I said. Thanks. |
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nikir
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| Posted: Sat Dec 23, 2006 2:41 am Post subject: |
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| I do agree with you on this one. |
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surfguy
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| Posted: Sat Dec 23, 2006 3:05 am Post subject: |
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| let's face it corruption runs hand in hand with gambling |
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MrSpice
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Joined: 14 Jul 2003
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| Posted: Sat Dec 23, 2006 5:43 am Post subject: |
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| yorbcbud wrote: |
Spicey, I always enjoy the compassion in your posts. There are weak people and there are strong people in any society. Is not the job of the government to protect all it's citizens? Do you honestly think that every gambling addict started out as an addict? Yes you can legislate almost everything, right down to wearing a bicycle helmet, or a seat belt. It's not supposed to be every man for himself. The addicts pay taxes too. Do they not have any rights? Or the expectation of help from the government they pay for? Buying expensive things and gambling addictions are not even remotely the same. |
It's a philosophical question of how much freedom should the citizens of a particular country have. In that case, Canada is, in my view, way ahead of the US. In Canada, prostitution was decriminalized. Galmbling is legal in most cities in state-run casinos (Niagara Falls on the Canadian side has one, while on the New York state side it's illegal). And smoking pot is basically legal in many Canadian cities. To me, that's a good thing. I think people should have more freedom, not less. There will always be people that will demand more government controls. I think there's a huge difference between a safety belt or bike helmet and banning gambling. Las Vegas is the most visited city in the world because millions of people like to gamble. Just because a small group of people cannot do it responsibly and loses all their money, does not mean that others should be prevented from doing what they like to do while paying their hard-earned money. Nevada is now the fastest-growing state in the US. There's no indication that in Nevada life is any worse for most people than in any other state, even though gambling is illegal in most states. In fact, Nevada makes so much money from gambling that their taxes are very low - that helps schools and all its citizens. |
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surfguy
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Joined: 13 Apr 2006
Posts: 6979
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| Posted: Sat Dec 23, 2006 6:18 am Post subject: |
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| MrSpice wrote: | | yorbcbud wrote: |
Spicey, I always enjoy the compassion in your posts. There are weak people and there are strong people in any society. Is not the job of the government to protect all it's citizens? Do you honestly think that every gambling addict started out as an addict? Yes you can legislate almost everything, right down to wearing a bicycle helmet, or a seat belt. It's not supposed to be every man for himself. The addicts pay taxes too. Do they not have any rights? Or the expectation of help from the government they pay for? Buying expensive things and gambling addictions are not even remotely the same. |
It's a philosophical question of how much freedom should the citizens of a particular country have. In that case, Canada is, in my view, way ahead of the US. In Canada, prostitution was decriminalized. Galmbling is legal in most cities in state-run casinos (Niagara Falls on the Canadian side has one, while on the New York state side it's illegal). And smoking pot is basically legal in many Canadian cities. To me, that's a good thing. I think people should have more freedom, not less. There will always be people that will demand more government controls. I think there's a huge difference between a safety belt or bike helmet and banning gambling. Las Vegas is the most visited city in the world because millions of people like to gamble. Just because a small group of people cannot do it responsibly and loses all their money, does not mean that others should be prevented from doing what they like to do while paying their hard-earned money. Nevada is now the fastest-growing state in the US. There's no indication that in Nevada life is any worse for most people than in any other state, even though gambling is illegal in most states. In fact, Nevada makes so much money from gambling that their taxes are very low - that helps schools and all its citizens. |
I pretty much agree with you Spice-I do think that Russia is doing the right thing and they used Vegas as an example...I watched Putin say this. Oh by the way Nevada may be growing but not the fastest. It's like saying becuase a population of 20 doubles to forty that is growing faster than a population of 20,000 that grows 30,000. Just becuase one doubles it population doesn't mean it's booming...ten thousand person in increase is better than 20. But yeah I agree...people should be allowed to gamble, and prostitution should be legal, and smoking pot should be legal...at least that is my view too. It's when things are abused or become abusive that we have a problem |
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yorbcbud
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Joined: 17 Feb 2006
Posts: 4903
Location: Сорренто, Британская Колумбия, Канада
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| Posted: Sat Dec 23, 2006 7:35 am Post subject: |
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| surfguy wrote: | | let's face it corruption runs hand in hand with gambling |
Not in my country it doesn't. It's all government regulated. I've never heard even a hint of corruption here. |
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