A new survey has revealed that betting is on the rise among school-going children with the trend spilling to primary school pupils.

According to the survey by consumer insight, seven in every 100 primary school children have gambled. The study notes that gambling is more prevalent in institutions of higher learning.

A third out of the 1,090 of college and university students sampled in the survey admitted to gambling.

The gambling craze has been on the rise in the country with the most popular betting platform being Sportspesa, an online sports betting site with over 800,000 subscribers. An average Sportspesa user spends Sh500 with others investing tens of thousands in the bet in order to stand a chance to win millions in jackpot.

Statistics released by Price Water house Coopers (PwC) late last year indicate that the annual gross turnover of sports betting industry in Kenya is $20 million (Sh2.1 billion).

In a country where majority of the youths remain unemployed, betting seems to be the only available chance of earning some money. Some students end up betting with their school fees.

In October this year, A third-year student at Egerton University in Njoro committed suicide yesterday after he allegedly lost a Sh 40, 000 bet.

Kenya’s regulatory framework for sports betting is the Betting, Lotteries and Gaming Act (Cap 131 Laws of Kenya), which establishes the Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB). Legislators have however been proposing for amendments on the existing law to tighten control of betting firms. (Read more…)