Nairobi's betting industry faces scrutiny as MCAs seek to restrict it to five-star hotels

From left Nairobi city county assembly minority leader Anthony Kiragu speaking to Nairobi MCA's on betting bill at the Nairobi city county assembly on 2nd April 2025. [David Gichuru, Standard] Nairobi County has initiated a process that could see regulation on betting in the city and another option of limiting them to Casinos in Five Star Hotels. The proposals are contained in the Betting, Lotteries and Gaming Bill, 2023 (2) that has been tabled in the Nairobi County Assembly and has sailed through the second reading. The Bill also seeks to allow the County to streamline the sector so as to also generate revenue from the betting firms and make them sensitise their clients of the negative impacts. "Apart from addiction, betting or gaming have other effects that are not visible but affect the users psychologically," Ngara Ward MCA Chege Mwaura noted during the debate in the Assembly. He added that betting has already ruined lives of many city residents and it was time to come up with regulations citing that some firms don't regulate age, time that one ought to play. "We need to deal with betting like when we dealt with public smoking, parents should be worried because the companies are collecting money from the vulnerable in the society including boda-boda riders," noted Anthony Kiragu, the minority leader. "The betting companies ought not to be awarded as the best in paying taxes as we have seen forgetting the social impacts that it leaves in the society," added Kiragu The MCAs said over time, betting addiction has been linked to suicide cases, broken marriages, economic erosion, unproductivity among the youths and job losses. "That is why betting and gaming should only be limited to casinos in five star hotels, it is worrying that nowadays betting machines are all over including in the estates and accessible to minors," he noted. While supporting the regulation of betting nominated member Joyce Muthoni noted the vice has contributed to rising cases of insecurity in some parts of the city. "That is because, betting is expensive venture and to sustain it, some youths resort to criminal activities so continue," she noted Another member Paul Wachira regretted that some hawkers at the city centre no longer concentrate on their businesses but out to make a few coins before dashing into betting shops to try luck and in the end losing their money. "The traders do that thinking that they will be instant millionaires but it is usually not the case, those companies target the vulnerable in society to exploit them, it should be regulated,' he added.

Nairobi's betting industry faces scrutiny as MCAs seek to restrict it to five-star hotels

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Nairobi's betting industry faces scrutiny as MCAs seek to restrict it to five-star hotels

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