PLACING YOUR BETS: THE GOOD AND THE BAD OF GAMBLING IN SPORTS

Gambling, a word that has found its ways through time, taking different forms, shapes and sizes despite being highly frowned upon from a religious and societal point of view. In Kenya today, we are faced with the phenomena of sports betting, one that has taken millions of people “into the fields.” The youth, women, men and even a few of the old dare place their bets. The English premier league for example, is no longer a preserve of the boys and the men, the women and the young ladies too have found an interest, an interest in the results at the end of the matches, as they too place their bets on the different teams. Our own ostracized KPL has also caught many gamblers eyes. For the betting companies, the results are obvious; they are recipients of millions of shillings from the ever unlucky; yet very persistent gamblers looking for the jackpot price. A read of the statistics may in fact shock you, as the amount of money lost by the gamblers to these betting companies is alarming; they have simply found a fat cow to milk. But what does that mean for sports in Kenya? What does it mean for the economy? Does the law have a part to play? And lastly, how do we deal with the social discordance that arises from gambling?  

Sports seem to have come to life with Sports Pesa, Bet in, MCheza and the other companies. We do not only have sponsorship of teams in the KPL but they sponsor the whole league and if reports in the media is anything to go by, Sports Pesa will give a little more money for the champions this season. This may be translated to better sports equipment and wear for the teams, better salaries for the players and staff for the clubs and a brighter competitive league. In addition, these companies sponsor other tournaments in the counties meant to scout young talent and bring young stars into the limelight.