Online gambling in Kenya is a mammoth industry. A laxity of Legislators and regulators to come up with laws to control the modern forms of online gambling has paved way for tremendous growth in the gambling firms in Kenya. Most of which are owned by foreigners.
The top online betting companies in Kenya are;
- Sportpesa.com
- Mcheza.co.ke
- BetinKenya
- Elitebetkenya.com
- Betway
- Justbet
Unlike traditional land based sweepstakes, the action at online gambling is perpetual and available to anyone who has access to the Internet. Many online gambling sites in Kenya operate from locations such as Bulgaria, Germany, United Kingdom e.t.c, unsupervised by the Kenyan government regulators.
Perhaps the most frightening aspect of online gambling is the rampaging growth of the unregulated industry and the dangers it poses to our economy in the near future.
Analysis of the Negative Impacts of online gambling to the Kenyan Economy
Due to the infancy of the online gambling industry and the secrecy surrounding the operation of this industry, no detailed study has been done on its economic impact. Below is a brief highlight of its impact;
Gambling creates an unproductively society
- Online gambling is an example of a socially unproductive profit seeking business, because gamblers whose predominant motivation for gambling is to increase their-economic well-being are wasting their time due to the reality that, about 2% of total gamblers manage to make a win.
- Online Gambling is a rewar-ding to gambling firms like sportpesa but removes resources from productive use and therefore lowers national income. It involves simply transfers of money between individuals, creating no new money or goods. This thus creates no output and absorbs time and resources.
How to Curb Online Gambling in Kenya
second option to limit Internet gambling is through enhanced enforcement mechanisms against credit card providers and money transfer agents. The Internet gambling industry is dependent on transactions from money transfer agents; thus, discouraging transactions will limit Internet gambling
Conclusion
- Online Gambling industry yields a negative impact on the Kenyan economy.
- Internet gambling deprives Nation and county governments of revenues required to maintain their services.
- Online gambling adversely affects our society in ways that cannot easily be quantified such as addiction, pathological behavior, and family disintegration.
NOTE: This is a summary of a study i am doing about the economic impact of online gambling. The study will be shared here in a short while.
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