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.

This is good for the development of football in Kenya. The interest that springs from gambling may vicariously lead to genuine interest in sports which is also a good thing. Talking of the economic effect there are two sides to this story. First, the good side, all the sponsorship and the CSR activities of these betting companies create jobs and offers opportunities to many people which lead to development of the economy. These companies also pay taxes to the Government which is also beneficial to the economy. The flip side is also important to look at; Economists have argued that betting does not help with economic growth as it does not lead to creation of new money. It’s more or less like alcoholism, an alcoholic spends the money created and does not make any new money. An example is when someone takes all their life savings and put them in a bet. Things become devastating when they lose.

We should also remember that betting like many societal vices is very addictive. It often leads to desperation when the gambler does not win. The media has been reporting of people who have even committed suicide as a result of betting. There are those who also say that betting will soon lead to match fixing, bribery if it let to grow without regulations. According to Hon. Washington Jakoyo Midiwo, the Deputy Minority Leader, in the National Assembly, there is the need to develop a law that will regulate gambling in the country. He is very concerned that it is left open to the general population. He states that best practices adopted from the developed countries are that betting is restricted, like in the USA; it is only in Las Vegas that one can gamble openly.  As it is, the mandate of the betting Control and Licensing Authority is a bit amorphous and the Gem MP may be right. Hopefully, he will be able to lobby for a legislation that will help deal with the bad in sports betting and let the good prevail.

“You’ve got to know when to hold them, when to fold them, when to walk away and when to run” - Gambler Kenny Rogers

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