This archive report was first published on 4 July 2019.
On July 4, 2019, Gatundu South Member of Parliament Moses Kuria proposed an innovative solution to the growing problem of betting in Kenya.
Speaking on the AM Live show on NTV, Mr. Kuria lamented the futility of trying to stop betting, instead suggesting that the government make good use of the revenue generated from betting.
He proposed redirecting the 10% excise duty charged on all betting sites to create a pension account for gamblers, effectively making betting a 'full-time job' in Kenya.
"By the way, you cannot stop betting, since you cannot stop it, make good use of it," Kuria said. "Just last week, we passed a supplementary budget which out of it, six billion coming from betting is going to universal healthcare. Thirty billion this year is the budget for the sports fund."
He added, "Out of it, 65 percent is going to healthcare, so this year we might get around 22 billion from betting. By the way, even the ten percent excise duty Rotich proposed in the budget, I am going to move an amendment and instead of giving government that money to go to a blind box somewhere. Let us open a personal pension account for every betting person so that betting becomes a job and they get a pension."
