Financial report raises alarm over betting

Twenty per cent of the adult population in Kenya surveyed considers betting as a reliable source of income.

This is according to the just released Central Bank of Kenya Financial Access (FinAccess) Household survey, which points out that more males consider betting as a source of income standing at 22.7% compared to females at 16% who agreed that it is a good way to make money.

Acting Director of the Research Department at the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) David Talaam says this is above global standards and worrying.

“20% is not a large number but for it to be the number of population of adults that believe betting is a source of income in the country, it is scary,” Talaam said.

The report authored by CBK in partnership with Kenya National Bureau of Statistics and Financial Sector Deepening Trust however, noted that among the population surveyed by the FinAccess, only 1.9 % of these people use mobile money for betting purpose and majority bet weekly.

The report further showed that more people in the rural areas do not consider betting as a source of income compared to those living in urban centres.

The highlights of the report came only a few days after Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i, gave betting companies in the country up to July 1^st to comply with tax laws or risk deregistration.

“Right now, we have about 500,000 of our young people who have been blacklisted by some of the lending agencies because they borrowed and cannot pay,’ said the Minister

According to Matiang’i, statistics show that Kenya is leading in the continent in betting with most of the youth being involved in betting.

He further claimed that 54% of those involved in betting are all from the low- income earning bracket.