Like with any hobby, sports betting should be done responsibly

It’s been a few months since I became a Sportpesa Mega Jackpot winner. Before I became the winner, I was an ordinary Kenyan from Konoin, who periodically invested some little cash in my gaming, which was just but a pastime activity. Since then, I have experienced many changes in my day to day life.

Apart from the windfall which I invested heavily across various sectors, I have had many people reaching out to me for ‘strategic counsel’ on betting.

But then again, why do we love sports betting? It’s simple, fun, and it gives us an opportunity to make some money! However, as a beginner, one should never rush off to start placing huge bets just yet.  

While sports betting might be as simple as enjoying a hobby, you have known since you were a child, it’s not exactly easy to get everything right especially on multiple bets.

Its noble that when you go about gaming, one should approach the game as a hobby, in that your bets should not in any anyway, affect your day to day life including provision of basic needs to your family and other dependents, nor should it draw from your savings.

I am not saying that one should not bet at all. However, I am advocating for people to bet responsibly. Even with your betting goals, one should ensure that the fun does not degenerate to pun.

Without a doubt, no-one has an infinite amount of money, so everyone has to manage their finances to some extent. There are certain living costs that should always be a priority.

Dire consequences

Betting with disposable income is fine but placing bets with money that is needed for other things is not something I would recommend to anyone simply because, that’s when it stops being fun and can start to get out of control with dire consequences.

Gaming is far more likely to be an enjoyable experience when it’s affordable, and there’s no need to worry about whether a wager wins or loses.

Ideally, you should also use a staking plan. A staking plan is basically just a set of rules that determine how much should be placed on each bet relative to the size of your budget.

Personally, I have never placed a stake that is more than 2 percent of my daily budget.

Success in gaming is continually and patiently hitting value situations coupled with a staking plan that exploits such found value, regardless of how improbable the particular outcome may seem.

Own formulae

Finally, recognize that it takes time. It’s like developing any kind of craft. Even if you intend to develop your own formulae for predicting the probable outcomes of matches, the development of an intuitive sense of value and ‘gut feel’ for the betting markets will often provide the basis for your bets.

Fellow gamers, knowledge is power and the greatest knowledge is experience. Essentially, this is the task when developing a sense for value.

In the end, it’s a matter of developing rich and deep experience for the betting markets and experience worth anything is experience well earned.

When all is said and done, we still have to bet responsibly. Responsible gaming doesn’t stop with the individual.

It also calls on those involved within the gaming industry to provide information and resources to help raise awareness and inform gamers of the risks associated with gaming, how to recognise when their fun turns into a gambling problem and more importantly how to seek help.

Mr Korir is a past winner of the SportPesa Mega jackpot. The third SportPesa Mega Jackpot winner bagged Sh208,733,619 at the end of September last year and is a former parliamentary seat aspirant for Konoin Constituency.