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Few Kenyan communities are crazy about sports betting like our brothers from the Rift Valley.
A majority of mid-week jackpot winners are from there, since betting was introduced in Kenya in 2014.
Recently, The Nairobian attended a high-end event with a sizeable chunk of VIPs being high-rolling bettors whose earnings kiss a million shillings and over. Over 90 per cent of the bettors were from Rift Valley, the region which produced Cosmas Korir, who won the Sh200 million SportPesa Mega Jackpot in 2018.
Korir, who hails from Bomet County, told The Nairobian that the Kalenjin love sports betting.
Korir who works in Pokot County said that a majority of bettors in his home area of Bomet and Kericho are youth. “Because of tea farming, most of them have some disposable income which has enabled many to access smartphones. With these gadgets, many are able to analyse games through internet and with the disposable income, they can place bets.”
Korir also attributes the betting supremacy to the nature of the land, luck and economic status in most parts of Rift Valley, especially South Rift.
“People from Rift Valley are generally and naturally good sports people and they love games and football in particular. The huge interest comes naturally and placing bets for certain teams excites them and they derive pleasure from it,” says Korir, adding that “the younger generation desire to own property but do not have a means so many place bets in the hope of striking it rich.”
Ken Kemboi, one of the guests at the betting event explained that “betting is part of my life, and I thank God that my predictions go through. You cannot be invited here if you haven’t touched at least Sh2 million.”
Kemboi lists the urge for quick money, love for sports, and luck since “we are generally lucky in everything we do. So I think it works for us when we gamble. But we are also known to be very aggressive when it comes to matters money. When we need it, we find ways of getting it.”
Kalenjin women are also not left out of the betting. In March 2017, Quintet Nimo Chemei, a 23-year-old student and mother of two from Mt Elgon, won Sh31 million SportPesa Mega Jackpot.
Something else. Most of the people who sell sports odds on social media platforms such as Facebook and Telegram are also from the land of mursik.
So serious is betting taken that some bettors take bank loans. Like one who secured a loan and placed a bet for Manchester United against West Ham and smiled all the way back to the bank.
OdiBets country manager Aggrey Sayi told The Nairobian that Rift Valley had many bettors even though Nairobi is still the champ, owing to it being the capital city. “Here is the rank from the figures we have: Nairobi, Rift Valley, Central, Western, Nyanza, Eastern, Turkana area, Coast, North Eastern,” he said.
However, a top official from Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB) says gambling remains just that, gambling and demography can be used to categorise people as bettors since “there is no expert in gambling unless you gave away to cheat. That is why it’s called gambling in the first place.”
Lola Okulo, a SportPesa official told The Nairobian that “looking at our recent mid-week jackpot winners, for instance, winners come from all over the country.”
While winning mega bucks has been known to transform those with financial wizardry, betting has also led to financial ruin in some cases.
