这个星期我听到一个消息，俄罗斯当局关闭了4个在莫斯科运行的非法赌场。我对俄罗斯的新赌博法并没有兴趣，但我了解到，俄罗斯开始施行严格的赌博法例是在2009年。2009年俄罗斯各地基本上禁止任何形式的赌博。也有一些例外，法律赌场业务可以在浩大的俄罗斯帝国的四个偏远角落开展。所以，如果你生活在莫斯科，而你又喜欢玩赌场游戏的感觉，你可以尝试在非法赌场开始你赌博游戏，但是你要面临被逮捕起诉的风险。你或者可以花费7小时的火车车程，到阿尔泰共和国等地区、黑海克拉斯诺达尔地区，远东或加里宁格勒地区附近的滨海地区……

　　在这些偏远地区的合法赌博，不用说，在大中心城市，如莫斯科的赌博禁令是不会影响这些地区的赌博活动的。这些地区经营赌场，并定期向他们的城市赌徒提供一个巨大的地下赌博活动。然而现在这些机构也被当局搜查。

　　上周最新的警察袭击行动，没收了该地区不少赌场的轮盘和扑克桌，角子机游戏以及一些重要文件等。总而言之，有200名警察参与这四个地区的赌场袭击行动。

　　如今俄罗斯新的赌博法律到位，有30个赌场和另外500家提供老虎机游戏的机构被关闭。不过，许多人俄罗斯人仍然痴迷赌博游戏，如定期航班飞往世界各地，包括拉斯维加斯和澳门赌博目的地。

　　俄罗斯新赌博法的另一个副作用是，本地赌徒比以往任何时候都更多地寻求顶级的在线赌场网站进行赌博活动，网上赌场使他们获得更多乐趣，也可以使自己在一个相对安全的环境中享受赌博游戏。

　　译文：

　　I heard this week that the Russian authorities shut down four illegal casinos running in Moscow. I’ve never checked the gambling laws in this country and was interested to read - when I did – that strict gambling legislation was actually past not too long ago, in 2009, that essentially forbids any form of gambling across Russia. There are some exceptions, and legal casino operations can be held in four far flung corners of the vast Russian Empire. So, if you’re living in Moscow and you feel like playing casino games, you can either try out an illegal casino under your nose （and face prosecution）， or you can take a 7 hour train journey to areas such as the Altai Republic, Asov City near the Black Sea region of Krasnodar, the Primorsky region near the Far East or the Kaliningrad region…

　　With legal gambling options in such remote areas, it goes without saying that the prohibitions on gambling in bigger city centers such as Moscow wouldn’t affect this activity in the very least. There is a vast underground of casinos running and city gamblers regularly flock to them. However, now and then these establishments are raided by authorities.

　　The latest raid last week yielded the confiscation of roulette and poker tables, slot games and documents that testified to illegal gambling activities. All in all, 200 police officers were involved in the raids on four casinos.

　　On the first day after the new laws were set in place, 30 casinos and another 500 establishments that offered slot gaming were shut down in the city of Moscow alone. Nevertheless, many are back in operation, either working outside of the law or through other legal facades. In addition, niche markets have opened up, such as regular flights to gambling destinations around the world, including Las Vegas and Macau.

　　Another side effect of the new Russian gambling laws is the fact that more local gamblers than ever are seeking their gambling activity at top online casino sites, bringing them a safe and entertaining way of having fun and making themselves some cool cash in the process.