“博彩”與“幸運博彩”溯源——兼論澳門旅遊娛樂業現代轉型

許多論著認為漢語“博彩”一詞是澳門首先採用的，這是美麗的誤會︒其實，含賭博意義的“博彩”一詞出現於清代後期︒隨着近代報章出現，在上海、新加坡、香港、澳門的新聞報導中均可見應用“博彩”︒到1960年代，港澳報章已出現博彩業、博彩娛樂、博彩稅、足球博彩等等今天常見的詞組，可見其時“博彩”一詞的意義已固定下來︒1961年，澳葡政府制定新的賭場承投法律，引入葡萄牙法律中的 Jogos de Fortuna ou Azar 概念，當時澳葡政府華務科翻譯員將之意譯為“幸運博彩”，以一個文雅吉利的詞組代替“賭博”的負面意義，首創先河︒1961年澳門幸運博彩法律的出台，改變了過往只有中式博彩種類的傳統，引進西式博彩元素︒同時，新的博彩法律亦規定了承辦商必須協助推動澳門旅遊業發展，促使澳門旅遊娛樂業實現現代化轉型︒

Many studies believe that the term bocai( 博彩 , gambling) in Chinese was first adopted by Macao, but this is a beautiful misunderstanding. In fact, the term with the meaning of gambling appeared in the late Qing Dynasty. With the appearance of modern newspapers, bocai was used in news reports in Shanghai, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Macao. By the 1960s, Hong Kong and Macao newspapers had already used common phrases such as bocaiye( 博彩業 , gambling industry), bocaiyule( 博彩娛樂 , gambling entertainment), bocaishui( 博彩稅 , gambling tax), and zuqiubocai( 足球博彩 , football gambling), indicating that the meaning of the term bocai had already been established. In 1961, the Macao government introduced new legislation for casino concessions, which incorporated the concept of Jogos de Fortuna ou Azar from Portuguese law. At that time, the government translator translated it as xingyunbocai( 幸運博彩 , lucky gambling), replacing the negative connotation of dubo( 賭博 ) with an elegant and auspicious phrase, which was a pioneering move. The introduction of the new gambling law in Macao in 1961 changed the traditional approach of only having Chinese-style gambling, and introduced Western-style gambling elements. At the same time, the new gambling law also stipulated that concessionaires must help promote the development of Macao’s tourism industry, promoting the modernization of Macao’s tourism and entertainment industry.