- Apr 2022
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www.technologyreview.com www.technologyreview.com
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Digitalisation brings benefits and problems. With new connections and possibilities come new risks and dangerous. It is happening in Kenya as country advances in digitalisation. Online sport betting is taking off fast. Some are becoming reach while many others are going banckrupt with amilies disintegrateing and even some people commting suicide.
According to the US research firm GeoPoll survey 84% of Kenya yout tried sport betteing. One third bet on daily basis. Kenyans sepnd $1.3 billion a year on bttering which is equal the budget of the country's Ministry of Health. 7 out of 10 youth have 'gambling disorder'.
How to address this problem? There are wide range of ideas floating around from banning online betting to new tighter legislaiton. Banning is not feasable as online betting is becoming highly integrated into local economy. Governmetns collect a lot of taxes. Online gaming industry is one of important source of employement as well. A few realistic actions includ stopping advertising online betting on radio and TV, introducing apps that can 'reduce temptations', banning access to online betting sites via university networks which are used by many youth,
There are a lot of studies on positive social and economic impact of Mpesa. Now, it is time also to address negative impact of mobile money such as sport betting.
Sport betting is not entirely new. Digitalisation and mobile money amplified spread of it.
The infrastructure for online betteing was set by fast connection via new undersea cables, influex of cheep Cinese-branded smartphones and MPesa mobile money system.
As one young Kenyan indicated in this study: 'Nowdays in Kenya, we term betting as a job. Peple believe that when you do genuine bets, when you take time to do good analyzation, you can win'.
Kenyans were spending $1.3 billion a year to place bets on the platform—more than the annual budget of the country’s Ministry of Health.
Sport betting is becoming continental phenomenon. In addition to 3/4 Kenyans there are more than half of youth from Uganda, Tanzania, Ghana, Nigeria, and South Africa involved in online betting.
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