National lottery 'should replace private betting firms'

SportPesa Midweek Jackpot winner, Bernard Ochieng’ (left) receives his Sh4,233,543 dummy cheque from World Boxing Council (WBC) women Super Bantamweight champion, Fatuma 'Iron Fist' Zarika in Nairobi on Tuesday, April 16, 2019. He was among the five winners who split the Jackpot that stood at Sh21,167,719 for correctly predicting 13 football games. [Courtesy]

As income inequality widens, the lowest-income households in Kenya spend a lot on lottery tickets. This is one of the key concerns raised in the Building Bridges Initiative report, which claims Kenyans spend tens of billions of shilling on lotteries each year.

The report recommends that the government sets up a national lottery, whose earnings could be ploughed back to empower the youth.