Gambling students go to virtual Las Vegas, not the library

Mobile smartphones have emerged as the gambling tools of choice among university students in Kenya, who frequently engage in English Premier League (EPL) football betting, according to a study by Fabio Ogachi, a lecturer at Kenyatta University.

Working with a small sample of 228 students from a large private university in Kenya, which will not be identified in accordance with the study’s ethical guidelines, Ogachi found that 92% of the respondents were gamblers and almost 70% suffered from gambling addiction.

Student gambling reaches fever-pitch highs when they bet on football, as all respondents cited placing bets on EPL fixtures. The study also established that most students use smartphones to open online accounts with betting companies. “The results of the study, which was done earlier this year, indicated about 80% gambled to chase their lost money,” said Ogachi.

The initial results of the ongoing PhD study, “Prevalence and Factors Associated with Gambling Disorder among Kenyan University Students Involved in Sports Betting,” confirm findings of earlier large-scale studies on youth gambling addiction in Kenya. They established how smartphones and other digital technologies were the drivers of gambling among the youth.

Students admit to placing bets

According to Dr Rachel Koross, an education lecturer at the University of Eldoret, who has studied how football betting was influencing behaviour of university students in Kenya, gambling is spreading fast in universities across the country. She said 70% of gambling university students in Kenya are motivated by quick and big money, while 15% are in it for enjoyment. “Another 10% say they bet to overcome boredom during spare time, while 5% do so for other reasons.”

A few students, who spoke to University World News on the basis of anonymity, confirmed Koross’s findings.

James Onyango (not his real name), a medical student at Mount Kenya University, conceded in an interview that he places bets on English Premier League teams from time to time, but for enjoyment only. “Together with my friends, we are mild gamblers, as we do it possibly once a week,” he told University World News.

Kelvin Mwangi (not his real name), a business administration student at Kenyatta University, said he placed several bets every month but uses little money. “I spend about 100 shillings (about US$1) for each bet, but I have friends who spend a lot of money,” said Mwangi.

Sylvester Maina, a civil engineering student at the University of Nairobi, does not gamble. “Me and my friends are just fans of English Premier League teams but never bet, although some of my classmates are hard gamblers and are always borrowing money to place bets,” said Maina.

More time on soccer than on academic websites

In an interview, Professor Maurice Amutabi, the executive director at the Nairobi-based Centre for Democracy, Research and Development, said students’ traffic to online gambling platforms is higher than to the university libraries. Amutabi had served as a vice-chancellor and deputy vice-chancellor in various universities.

Amutabi explained that the gambling industry in Kenya has established itself as a prominent social and economic force, promising young people to strike it rich without hard work. “Towards this goal, many university students are spending more time on soccer sites than on academic websites or on reading course textbooks and other learning materials,” he said.

Although Ogachi’s study had small-sample-size data and was sourced from a single university, what is emerging is that university students in Kenya might be a high-risk group as far as internet gambling goes.

In a survey, “Gambling in Sub-Saharan Africa” conducted by GeoPoll, 76% of Kenyan respondents participated in gambling or betting, making Kenya the country in the region with the highest number of young gamblers.

“Football betting and the popularity of the English Premier League have continued to grow in a symbiotic way with a growing youth population that continues to be defined by its uptake of technology,” said GeoPoll in a study, 2018 World Cup Insights: Device usage, viewing habits and betting in Africa.

Amutabi pointed out concerns that gambling was affecting learning, as most students were spending a lot of time gambling online and missing lectures. “Many students in the universities are even more informed about line-ups, injury updates, referees, coaches of EPL, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and Ligue 1, more than what they will cover in class,” said Amutabi.

Compulsive gambling students are likely to end up spending a significant part of their day analysing bets and waiting for the outcome of the bets, instead of learning. Ogachi noted that most of the study respondents said they spent time thinking about how to recover the lost money, while others mused unsuccessfully on how to reduce their gambling habits. “But constant reminders, offers of free bets, attractive bonuses and misleading advertisements have kept many students as permanent residents of online gambling villages,” said Ogachi.

Gamblers are predominantly men

In terms of gender involvement, Ogachi found that 89% of student gamblers were men and only 11% were female, although he said there were indications that female involvement was rising. In his experience on the matter, Amutabi noted the majority of female students who gambled in the universities were most likely to be dating gambling boyfriends.

In his efforts to trace inherent problems associated with gambling among students, Ogachi found that chasing losses is one of the key symptoms of gambling disorder that perpetuated addiction and contributed to significant financial difficulties. “One of the key findings of the study was that 61% of the respondents had borrowed money as a result of gambling,” he said.

According to GeoPoll, the average spending on betting by Kenyans aged 18-29 years in a given month was about US$16, a sum that could buy you two shirts and a pair of trousers and could be significant to unemployed students.

Tragic consequences

On the future of gambling by students in the Kenyan universities, Amutabi noted the problem is only likely to increase as many will continue hoping to win a jackpot and make a quick escape from poverty. Indeed, owning a smartphone among students in the Kenyan universities is becoming more or less like virtually airlifting Las Vegas casinos into the heart of Africa.

In the past, gambling among university students has often turned tragic. In 2016 a Kenyatta University student committed suicide after losing about US$1,000 in a football bet. He left behind a note, indicating that he had placed the money on a high-stakes UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) Champions League match between German and Italy that ended in a draw.

In another incident, a student from Maseno University dropped out from college after he lost US$400 on betting. The money was part of a loan from the Higher Education Loans Board to pay fees.