Sports Betting Overtaking Other Economic Sectors in Kenya

Whenever there is a football game going on, this is the time that most people in Kenya, especially the youth make sure they their mobile phones are loaded with airtime so they can predict which team is most likely to win at the end of that match with a chance of winning big. This is done by sending some amount of cash to a given number, and by so doing, if your prediction turns out to be correct, then you stand to multiply the cash you had sent earlier. Welcome to the world of betting.

This is a trend that has become part and parcel of many Kenyans’ lives. Sports betting is no longer a new term to us. Kenyans want quick money, an unshocking realization given that most of the youth are unemployed and therefore this is where they are more likely to bring some money to themselves.

There has been widespread interest in sports betting companies in Kenya in the recent past. The latest entrant to the game being Pambazuka, which was launched three days ago. Other known sports betting companies in the country include Mcheza, Elibet, Justbet, Betyetu, Betway, Eazibet and the famous SportPesa.

One thing that leaves me with lots of unanswered questions is, how come the betting/gambling business seems to be taking hold quickly in the country compared to areas like the manufacturing sector that have been there for a very long period of time? Little to no growth is being experienced in crucial economic sectors.

The manufacturing industry only accounts for 14 percent of Kenya’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) despite the fact that Kenya is the most industrially developed country in East Africa.

Read: The Betting Explosion in Kenya: Is There Reason to Worry?

The 14 percent mentioned above is just a slight increase since independence as the sector has stagnated since the 1980s. This stagnation is as a result of shortages in hydroelectric power, high energy costs, decreased transport infrastructure and dumping of cheap imports from other countries.

Urbanization has made the industry and the manufacturing sector very important to the Kenyan economy which has in turn increased the GDP per capita. Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu, which form the three largest urban centers in Kenya, are also areas where industrial activities have been concentrated greatly. These are the areas where food processing industries and the fabrication of consumer goods have dominated.

Why then can’t it be the other way? So that such important sectors can be prioritized as compared to sports betting?  In the same way that sports betting companies are investing a lot in their industry; a venture which has made the owners behind the companies enormous profits, the public and the private sectors should emulate the same so as to create employment opportunities for the youth and Kenyans in general.