2022年12月26日 VOA慢速英語：對非洲體育博彩的擔(dān)憂加劇

 


In at least five African countries, many people consider sports gambling as a way to get regular income.
在至少五個非洲國家，許多人將體育博彩視為獲得固定收入的一種方式。
 
Some consider sports gambling a way out of poverty. But critics warn that sports betting in Africa is increasing while poverty, unemployment and a lack of industry rules remain big problems.
有些人認(rèn)為體育博彩是擺脫貧困的一種方式。但批評人士警告說，非洲的體育博彩正在增加，而貧困、失業(yè)和缺乏行業(yè)規(guī)則仍然是大問題。
 
In one example, a Ugandan health official was so sure Argentina would win its World Cup soccer game against Saudi Arabia that he bet $1,800. The money was loaned to him by officials from an amount meant to go to 243 people who had taken part in a polio vaccine campaign.
在一個例子中，一位烏干達衛(wèi)生官員非常確信阿根廷會贏得世界杯足球賽對陣沙特阿拉伯的比賽，因此他下注 1,800 美元。這筆錢是官員借給他的，這筆錢本來是要捐給 243 名參加小兒麻痹癥疫苗接種活動的人的。
 
Argentina lost the game, and the official lost the money. Later he was chased by an angry crowd and locked himself indoors for days. His supervisor said he could lose his job.
阿根廷輸了比賽，官輸錢了。后來他被憤怒的人群追趕，將自己鎖在室內(nèi)好幾天。他的主管說他可能會丟掉工作。
 
In Uganda, the official's loss was a lot of money. Yearly income per person in the country was $840 in 2020.
在烏干達，官方的損失是一大筆錢。到 2020 年，該國人均年收入為 840 美元。
 
Sports gamblers include students, politicians, workers or government officials.
體育賭徒包括學(xué)生、政治家、工人或政府官員。
 
Information on sports betting from all of Africa is not available. But data from a few countries show its growing popularity. Online gambling has grown in recent years. The increase has been driven by a growing use of mobile payments and demand for online entertainment. Much of the betting is on soccer games in Europe.
無法獲得來自整個非洲的體育博彩信息。但一些國家的數(shù)據(jù)顯示其越來越受歡迎。在線賭博近年來有所發(fā)展。這一增長是由越來越多的移動支付使用和在線娛樂需求推動的。大部分賭注都投注在歐洲的足球比賽上。
 
A South African government study from 2017 was among the most recent on gambling. It found that sports betting grew 14 percent a year between 2008 and 2016. But the number of South Africans who gambled fell from 57 percent to less than one third of the country's adult population.
南非政府2017 年的一項研究是最新的賭博研究之一。調(diào)查發(fā)現(xiàn)，體育博彩在 2008 年至 2016 年期間每年增長 14%。但賭博的南非人人數(shù)從占該國成年人口的 57% 下降到不到三分之一。
 
Today, online sports betting makes up 45 percent of the South African gambling market. Just 10 years ago casinos held an 80 percent share of the market, said the National Gambling Board.
如今，在線體育博彩占南非博彩市場的 45%。國家博彩委員會表示，就在 10 年前，賭場占據(jù)了 80% 的市場份額。
 
In Zimbabwe, most people do not make more than $100 a month. Sports betting there "has become a major income earner even for those who are in formal employment," said Japhet Moyo. He is secretary-general of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions. "The problem is that it becomes addictive and some lose their salaries to betting."
在津巴布韋，大多數(shù)人每月的收入不超過 100 美元。Japhet Moyo 說，那里的體育博彩“甚至對于那些有正式工作的人來說已經(jīng)成為主要的收入來源”。他是津巴布韋工會大會的秘書長。“問題是它會讓人上癮，有些人會因為賭博而失去薪水。”
 
A salary is money earned from work.
工資是從工作中賺取的錢。
 
African gamblers often expect to pay for daily needs with gambling winnings. Philo Ragada is an unemployed schoolteacher in Harare, Zimbabwe's capital. He bet on England to beat Senegal in a World Cup game. Ragada supported the African team but said he wanted England to win because "that's where my money is." His winnings, he said, would be "enough for tomorrow's bread and tomatoes."
非洲賭徒通常期望用賭博贏來的錢來支付日常所需。Philo Ragada 是津巴布韋首都哈拉雷的一名失業(yè)教師。他打賭英格蘭隊會在世界杯比賽中擊敗塞內(nèi)加爾隊。拉加達支持非洲隊，但表示他希望英格蘭隊獲勝，因為“那是我的錢所在”。他說，他的獎金“足夠買明天的面包和西紅柿了”。
 
Wale Babalola is a college graduate in the Nigerian city of Lagos who owns eight betting shops after once struggling to find a job. "If not for betting, I wonder how some people will survive in this country."
Wale Babalola 是尼日利亞拉各斯市的一名大學(xué)畢業(yè)生，在曾經(jīng)苦苦尋找工作后，他擁有八家博彩店。“如果不是為了博彩，我不知道有些人將如何在這個國家生存。”
 
Concern about the industry is also growing. Reagan Wamajji is a researcher with the Uganda-based Center for Policy Analysis. He said there should be campaigns against gambling, especially sports betting. "However, it is such a lucrative business that meaningful reforms might be hard to push," he said.
對該行業(yè)的擔(dān)憂也在增加。Reagan Wamajji 是烏干達政策??分析中心的研究員。他說應(yīng)該開展反對賭博的運動，尤其是體育博彩。“然而，這是一項利潤豐厚的業(yè)務(wù)，可能難以推動有意義的改革，”他說。
 
A Ugandan parliamentary group earlier this year suggested banning daytime betting.
今年早些時候，烏干達議會小組建議禁止白天投注。
 
Neighboring Kenya has reported a decrease in gambling since 2019. That was when the country began taxing all bets. The government also withdrew the licenses of several major gambling companies.
鄰國肯尼亞報告稱，自 2019 年以來賭博活動有所減少。該國也正是從那時開始對所有賭注征稅。政府還吊銷了幾家主要賭博公司的執(zhí)照。
 
A Kenyan government study said that gamblers who considered gambling a good way to make money fell by half to 11 percent between 2019 and 2021.
肯尼亞政府的一項研究表明，認(rèn)為賭博是賺錢的好方法的賭徒在 2019 年至 2021 年期間下降了一半至 11%。
 
For regular gamblers, especially those who bet money that is not theirs, the recent World Cup has been punishing.
對于經(jīng)常賭徒，尤其是那些下注不是自己的錢的賭徒來說，最近的世界杯一直是一種懲罰。
 
Gideon Matua is a security guard in Uganda. He said two friends recently lost their jobs after losing other people's money.
Gideon Matua 是烏干達的一名保安。他說，最近有兩個朋友因為丟了別人的錢而丟了工作。
 
"I've seen very many people here crying," he said. "Someone comes here and puts a big amount on one team. If the team loses, they just go home. Some of them have been chased away from their jobs."
“我看到這里有很多人在哭，”他說。“有人來到這里，給一支球隊投入了很多錢。如果球隊輸了，他們就回家了。他們中的一些人已經(jīng)被趕走了。”