Your child may be gambling more than doing homework

Gambling machines seized in Kajiado County yesterday. [PHOTO: PETERSON GITHAIGA/STANDARD]

A survey by Consumer Insight, a Nairobi-based research firm, shows that seven in every 100 primary school pupils have gambled.

The survey states that gambling has transformed from backroom neon lit casinos to estate kiosks, televisions screens and mobile phones.

Betting is more prevalent in institutions of higher learning with a third of college and university students sampled conceding that they gambled.

In the polls, 22 per cent of secondary school students said they gamble.

Generally, Kenyans list gambling as an income generating activity with more men, youth and well-educated more likely to place a bet.

Out of the 1,090 males polled, 55 earned their money from betting, a trend that is growing like bush-fire among young Kenyans.

The survey also found that gambling is not a game of the poor, with 20 per cent of high income earners saying they made  money from betting. Twenty-three per cent of middle and 19 per cent of the low income earners said they depend on betting  to earn their keep.

The statistics come amidst an aggressive advertising campaign by betting firms at a time where legislators are trying to regulate the business.

The Betting Lotteries and Gambling Amendment Bill of 2016 proposes a ban on advertisements of betting games in which prizes are offered.

The Bill by Gem MP Jakoyo Midiwo is a second attempt at reining in betting companies which are making phenomenal profits and promoting the growing culture of betting in the country.

Mr Midiwo, who failed to convince his colleagues to form a special committee to investigate tax evasion, money laundering, proposes tighter regulation and greater access of company’s billions in profit by Kenyans.

BETTING HABIT

He argued that the betting habit was rapidly spiraling out of control and eroding Kenyans’ saving culture, and threatening to gains made by phone banking by converting mobile phones to betting tools.

A financial services firm, Financial Sector Deepening (FSD)-Kenya, also raised concern that the craze for gambling could destabilise existing financial practices and undermine established habits of savings and livelihoods.

FSD Kenya cited several cases to back its argument, including a woman who used to make small savings with a women’s group. The woman, after learning how to gamble, decided she did not need the group anymore.

This comes even as the Government abandoned the mobile phone based M-Akiba that could have allowed ordinary Kenyans to invest as little as Sh3,000 in Government bonds instead of  gambling.

M-Akiba, which has been delayed since October last year, was finally thrown out, removing the little incentive for creating a savings culture.

Treasury cited high costs of trading M-Akiba on mobile phone platforms which they say will erode its value.