How young people are gambling their way to poverty
Nickson Obi got engulfed in irresponsible gambling when he was in primary school, a habit he continued with in his adulthood, only to regret later.
He shares how he engaged in the gambling games, that include playing cards, tossing of coins and online gambling such as those involving sports (betting) but despite ‘investing’ a lot of money, he got very little in return.
At times, he would get lucky, but would spend it all in merry-making with his friends with the hope of striking another deal in the next round. But it would take a lot of money, time, a number of days before he would have small wins.
“I would use all the money and spend a lot of time hoping against all odds that I would hit a jackpot after placing bets, but to my surprise, I would earn nothing or if lucky, get peanuts. But I kept losing most of the time,” Obi adds.
He went as far as spending school fees on irresponsible gambling, though he managed to climb the academic ladder up to university level where he graduated with a degree in Automotive Engineering. But at some stage he almost dropped out because of this habit.
“It is indeed difficult to abandon irresponsible gambling. Imagine while studying at the university, I still engaged in gambling in a bid to get pocket money,” Obi asserts.
Even when he got married, he kept to this vice. He says it got to a time when his family almost starved after gambling all the money at the expense of family needs.
“My family members would sleep on empty stomach due to irresponsible gambling. At this stage, depression crept in. There was a period I abandoned my family to run away from responsibilities,” reveals Obi.
Obi, age 26 and father of one, now lives in Korogocho, Nairobi. He has since quit gambling and earns a living through performing arts.
“I have known the good and bad of gambling. So, I advise whoever is thinking of this to tread carefully,” he avers.
Another victim of gambling is Elizabeth Achieng. She says she had to quit a relationship after her boyfriend spent all the little resources/money on irresponsible gambling.
“He always had nothing. He could not afford to take me out or buy me a present or provide anything I requested because of irresponsible gambling, which he used to lose most of the time. So, I could not bear it anymore and had to call it quits,” discloses Achieng.
Joblessness and desperation
Obi and Achieng were among hundreds of youths who attended Sensitisation Workshop on Responsible Gambling at a Kericho hotel, recently. The event held under the theme ‘Unite to Remedy Problem Gambling’ was organised jointly by Flave Media Group, Social Economic Empowerment Women Organisation (SEEWO) and Reconstruct Kenya Youth Network (RKYNetwork).
March is the official Problem Gambling Awareness Month. The event marked the start of a series of activities educating the youth and women about the dangers of obsessive betting.
Flave Media Group patron, Peninah Mwangi says indeed gambling has become a menace in the society thus the need to join hands with various government agencies and other organisations in a bid to create awareness about the dangers of irresponsible gambling.
“We need partners, government agencies and organisations to journey together in this noble idea, so that those engaging in irresponsible gambling see the light and do the right thing on matters of getting means of livelihoods,” she adds.
The patron says both the electronic and print media talks about gambling prominently without touching on its effects. She adds that it is high time its negative effects are brought out in a bid to remedy the situation.
“Joblessness and desperation among the youths has made them to step into irresponsible gambling with the hope of reaping big, but end up losing all the money or get very little, which does not help them at all,” Penina states.
She reveals that the sensitisation programme kicked off in Kericho County last week and will be done in others counties.
Flavian Mbusi, Managing Director Flave Media Group urges the national and county governments to plough back proceeds from gambling to support youth gainful activities aimed at bettering their lives.
He adds that this applies to betting firms that he claims rake in billions of shilling in profits, yet they have not done much in terms of funding gainful activities for the youths in the country.
“The governments must act now and ensure proceeds from gambling are channelled to youth programmes and other fields such as sports and performing arts among other meaningful activities for them to earn a living and subsequently put to rest irresponsible gambling,” he says.
Create opportunities
SEEWO Managing Director Winny Keter says the menace is so serious in the society that it has led to family and society disintegration and poverty among other vices.
Winny, whose organisation empowers women, claims that betting or irresponsible gambling pulls back the gains or objectives of the organisation arguing that women and youths “invest” their money in betting with the hope of better returns, but majority of them get nil.
“We need urgent solutions to remedy the menace because it is making many people poor,” she says.
Kericho County director for Education and Vocational Training, Irine Ng’eno says the best way to deal with irresponsible gambling is to create opportunities for the youths.
Irine reveals that the county administration is alive to the fact the menace is a real and a serious problem and therefore, it is coming up with policies, interventions, plans and programmes to put the matter to rest.
“We are hitting the ground running to create awareness and offer alternatives and lasting means for our youths to earn a living going forward,” she asserts.
She urges the youths to take advantage of the county’s programme offering free training opportunities to study at vocational training institutions in a bid to acquire skills and subsequently be self-employed and get means of livelihoods. She reveals that the county administration has finalised plans to pay fees for over 4,000 youths set to join vocational institutions across the county.
In December 2023, President William Ruto signed into law the Lottery Bill, to establish the National Lottery Fund, whose objective is to retain and disburse the proceeds of the National Lottery. The new bill replaced the Betting, Lotteries and Gaming Act.
