Betting and gambling culture is ticking time bomb

Pray tell me, what value do we really gain from betting and gambling? Can a nation prosper through betting and gambling? These are pertinent questions that we must confront in the face of the rapid increase of lottery, gambling and betting companies in Kenya. I recently took count of the number of adverts that ran during the television news hour between 9pm and 10pm. Almost 90 per cent were on various forms of betting and gambling. One would imagine that the only business that we do in this nation is lottery.

In a recent outrage, Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i decried the betting craze, especially among the youth. The shocking revelation was that up to 76 per cent of young people are involved in one form of betting or the other. He further revealed that more than 500,000 youth have been blacklisted by lending agencies. This means that these young Kenyans may never access credit for any gainful activity. Instead, they have most likely been consigned to a life of poverty and dependence – if not of crime!