Kenyans withdrawing from SportPesa?

Are Kenyans getting disillusioned by SportPesa? This seems to be the attitude emerging against the leading sports betting company if the top Google searches in the country for the month of July is anything to go by.

During the chilly month, Google’s top most searched “How To” item was How to check KPLC bill. The second, interestingly, was ‘How to withdraw from SportPesa’.

The link can be made between this search item and the highest search term during the month which was World Cup matches. Kenyans tracked the quarterfinals, the semis and the final with the eight matches being played early in the month.

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With the shocks and surprises that accompanied the World Cup games, it was not a good time to be a betting fan. Placing your money where your mouth is was difficult especially for those who expected favourites Brazil to go all the way to the final. Many Kenyans, it seems, lost lots of bets during the World Cup.

At the same time, a myriad of matches, especially those involving Croatia, went into extra-time. Majority of bets are usually placed on the presumption that the winner of the match will be known during the regulation 90 minutes.

SEE ALSO : WHY KENYANS LOVE BETTING

Some football lovers told Business Today they were excited when the World Cup began as this was an opportunity to reap betting season. “The World Cup will pay this month’s rent,” some of them said of the tourney that began on June 14, the same day that the National Budget was read in Kenya.

However, the World Cup delivered shocks early on. Germany crashed out in the first round, finishing bottom of their group while Argentina, Spain and Portugal wobbled through the group stages before limping out in the second round. The frustration was dire with even Brazil staggering to a quarterfinal which they lost to Belgium.

These Ole Lenku memes about #Brazil loss are hilarious hehe pic.twitter.com/5uet4mEYey

— #BlackLivesMatter (@savvykenya) July 9, 2014

That is probably why the urge to withdraw from SportPesa has taken on fresh impetus. The tempting allure of betting is no longer as lucrative. Racking up monetary losses on the betting front brings about downward motivation. Only one jackpot winner was announced over the duration of the World Cup.

SEE ALSO : SPORTPESA TAKEN TO COURT OVER BETTING AWARD

It certainly does not bode well for the company which is also facing competition from a series gambling firms. BetWay has been making head way in the market while Royal Media Services owned Shabiki.com has also slowly caught the wave of the media house’s considerable nationwide reach.