Address gambling menace in Kenya
Kenya has become a hotbed of betting firms, which have pitched tent and made the local market their hub and canvas.
In yet another disheartening news, a 23-year-old Chuka University student was recently said to have died by suicide.
The young man reportedly took his life in a girlfriend’s house at Kangaru village, Embu County.
It was claimed that he was addicted to gambling, which could have triggered his untimely demise.
This case is just a tip of the iceberg and should be a wake-up call for the authorities to address the alarming rate of betting. Many youths have sunk in the bottomless pit of uncontrolled betting, the purposeless woebegottens drowning in the delusional imagination of quick riches, a pipe dream that remains elusive.
Kenya has become a hotbed of betting firms, which have pitched tent and made the local market their hub and canvas. Radio and TV stations also advertise gambling in-between regular programming, luring the vulnerable, such as the elderly. The game has drawn many investors, the pawn the pathological gambler ever on the receiving end.
College students and young graduates are caught up in the betting abyss, hoping for easy-peasy financial survival. Others get excited at the prospect of becoming overnight millionaires.
This is exacerbated by unemployment and devastating economic times. The gambling populace should be a concern due to the nefarious effects of the vice.
Gambling causes bankruptcy and makes one sink in debt and go berserk as they hopelessly watch their hard-earned money go up in smoke. Losing a bet is devastating; one develops the urge to desperately keep trying, which degenerates into a rat race.
Betting fuels domestic altercations and family breakdowns. When one redirects family resources to betting sprees, they leave the other members infuriated and create animosity.
With financial loss, crashed hopes and anguish, betting may escalate to anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts. It also makes a mockery of diligence. Consistent betting can make one indulge in drug addiction, mostly to escape reality after losing.
It is a no-brainer that overindulgence in gambling is a poisoned chalice to the youth. The Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB) should strictly regulate betting to discourage it.
Timothy Mwirichia, Meru
