Online gambling addiction can be a severe problem for certain people. The addiction will cause intensive gambling, being unable to stop gambling, and also jeopardizing financial stability.
In Kenya, where millions of people gamble on a daily basis, gambling addiction can be a huge issue. In the UK we can see GamStop and other methods working to help these players. What about players in Kenya? We will have to discuss the topic in detail right here.
Understanding problem Gambling in Kenya
Gambling addiction can affect a decent number of users in Kenya. This means that players will be at risk of losing their jobs, making the relationships with family members problematic and a lot more. Treatments for this addition are available and they are reasonably effective. Nevertheless, the best treatment is prevention.
If a player cannot proceed with gambling addiction issues, he will soon sort it all out and he will be able to return to the normal gambling cycle. This is something we can see in all African countries around the world where people love to gamble. For example, players from Nigeria face similar issues since they also don't have access to GamStop.
There are a lot of reasons why gambling addiction occurs in Kenya. First of all, gambling here is not heavily controlled by the government. The casinos don't offer proper methods to help players stop gambling before it is too late. Then we can see that some methods that players can use to stay safe from online gambling are expensive or unavailable in Kenya.
GamStop: A self-exclusion solution for Kenyan gamblers
GamStop is the tool that made online gambling much safer and more appealing to players who were worried about gambling addiction. It covers all UKGC sites and it is available in the UK only. The process of you using GamStop is super easy.
You will create the account on the platform. This is not some app or software. GamStop is an organisation that works with UKGC. Once a player creates the account, he needs to choose how long his self-exclusion will last. You can start at 6 months which is enough for certain players. If you want a longer ban, you can. 1 year is also available. Some players will even choose 5 years ban which is the longest available option here.
During that time, you are unable to place bets on casino games or sports. All the UKGC sites will recognize your account and block it. You cannot create new accounts and you cannot deposit funds. The only exception is casino sites not affected by GamStop and other limits from UK authorities. However, because of the complexity of searching and the concealment of their activities, this drawback of the self-excluded scheme can be ignored.
Once the ban expires, you can remove it and you can continue playing the games. You will have to contact the support of GamStop and ask them to allow you this. Usually, they will need 24 hours or slightly more and you can continue gambling once again.
Keep in mind that there are some casinos that are not members of GamStop's limitations. These casinos will not be affected by self-exclusion. You need to stay aware and make sure the ultimate goal is to defeat gambling addiction.
Additional tools to combat problem gambling
Kenyan players are not able to use GamStop in 2023. We don't know will this method become available in the country any time soon. But we do know that there are other tools Kenyan players can use. Here are some of them.
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Gamban
Gamban is a software that can help you with gambling addiction. It will block access to gambling sites and apps in the same way as GamStop. The major difference here is that GamBan is not free. You do get a free trial but after that, you will have to pay for the solution. It is available to all platforms.
BetBlocker
This is a free tool that works in a similar way as GamBan. You will download the app, install it and you are done. The service will block access to all major websites for gambling, which makes this application a good alternative option for Kenyan players until the GamStop is unavailable. This software is available today for all common operating systems.
NetNanny
This app was released in 1993. It had powerful parental controls. Of course, the developers have added new features many times. In the 2000s the app got support to block access to gambling sites. As such, Kenyan players can use it to limit their access to online casinos and betting sites.
Conclusion
Gambling addiction in Kenya can be more severe than one in the UK. Players here don't have access to GamStop. Luckily, there are a lot more methods that players can use and most of these are great.
If you notice any issues with your gambling and you are worried about addiction, make sure to get help as soon as you can. It is much better to start using all the tools you can than not using one. Try these and you will find the methods that work perfectly for you.
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