One man army: Iconic protester bets to end gambling

One young man staged a protest against gambling yesterday outside Nation Centre, which houses Nation newspapers and NTV, in a move he said is aimed at ‘saving our nation’ from gambling. The guy was sending a message to media houses that are promoting gambling, more so sports betting.

The man, whose name we have not yet obtained, stood silently holding a placard written,” Please Stop Gambling adverts. Save our country. Thank you, Royal Media for not supporting gambling.” And betting that someone will take him seriously.

Royal Media is the only media house in Kenya that has banned betting adverts on all its platforms, keen not to be seen to be promoting what many consider an ‘immoral’ business especially from a religious point of view. Churches are at the forefront of those opposed to betting.

While legislators are not opposed to betting, they are pushing for stricter regulation and taxation.

This comes at a time when betting has become a way of life for many young people, some going to an extend of using school/college fees to gamble. Some have taken loans to gamble, while there have been reported cases of suicide linked to gambling, raising concern over its impact, which includes leaving many families poor. There have been jackpot wins but that has not been consolation enough for opponents of betting.

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The trend is highly promoted by media houses advertising betting sites, with the latest move by The Star who have gone an extra mile to produce a free pull-out in their weekend edition. The pullout will have analysis of matches to be played during the week and possible outcomes. This will encourage more betting as people will feel “sure” of the bets they place.

According to the local Betting Control and Licensing Board more than five million Kenyans – 12.5 per cent of the country’s 40m mobile money users and 11% of the total population – have engaged in mobile betting.

[crp]