This archive report was first published on 30 September 2019.
On September 30, 2019, a parliamentary committee chairman, Kanini Kega, expressed his support for the closure of SportPesa and Betin in Kenya, citing the negative impact of the betting industry on the youth.
According to Kega, who heads the National Assembly Committee on Trade, the closure of the two firms will help improve the lives of the youth by reducing addiction and promoting job opportunities.
“Betting does not create wealth,” Kega said on Sunday at Kabiruini PCEA in Nyeri. “It is unfortunate that the two firms closed shop. I know a few people who were employed lost their jobs, but I insist that the kind of companies we are going to support are those that come in terms of industries that will create job opportunities for our people but not addiction.”
More than 2,500 people, the majority Kenyans, have since been rendered jobless by the closure of the two firms, which controlled more than 60 percent of the betting market share in Kenya.
The two firms stopped operations following a prolonged tax standoff with the government, with SportPesa saying it was disappointed with the decision by the Kenyan MPs to impose a 20 percent excise tax on all betting stakes.
