In a recent report by CBK after conducting a Financial Access Household Survey dubbed FinAccess 2019 that measures and tracks developments and dynamics in the financial inclusion landscape in Kenya, it was revealed that Kenyans are addicted to gambling.
Statistics have put Kenya on top of all African countries in the category of young people engaged in gaming and betting. A majority being Kenyan youths who have no stable source of incomes most of whom are low-income earners.
In a directive issued on April 30, the Betting board has banned many forms of advertising that have been helping gambling firms woo clients.
“The board as a regulator has the duty to present its customers, members of the public young and the vulnerable. The Board has therefore banned: Outdoor advertising of gambling, advertising of gambling on social media platforms, advertising gambling between 6 am and 10 pm, endorsement of gambling operations by celebrities” reads the notice from the Betting Board.
“Any form of advertisement of gambling must be approved by the Board and such an advert must contain a warning message of the consequences including addictiveness and that the warning message must constitute a third of the actual advertisement and be of the same font,” reads another part.
Could this be in line with Matiangi’s threat to stakeholders in the betting industry as well as the Betting and Licensing Control Board (BCLB) of the tough policies that are about to be imposed on the betting industry to curb on its exponential growth and discourage youths from getting lured into it?