Kenya pushes for national lottery

A recent report recommends Kenya should create a national lottery in order to use gambling expenses in favouring  the youth with its revenue.

Kenya.- According to a recent report by Building Bridges, low-income households spend a lot on lottery tickets. That’s why the body recommended Kenya should have a national lottery to use that money and help the youth.

“The private betting industry is leading to hopelessness and greater poverty,” the report says. “The task-force suggests that the private betting industry be replaced with one major one run by government. Its proceeds, as is the case in other countries, (would be) used for activities that uplift the youth, sports, culture and other social activities beneficial to citizens.”

Sports betting

Should Kenya create its national lottery, it could also bring down the sports betting segment, which has already faced hurdles.

In August, SportPesa announced that it had decided to cancel all of its sports sponsorship deals in the country. This comes after a dispute with the local government’s approval of a new betting tax in the 2019-20 financial budget.

Football Kenya Federation President Nick Mwendwa urged the government to slow down on its stance on betting firms. He referred to the fight between the government and betting firms in regards to tax compliance.

Mwendwa said that the sport will be the biggest loser when it comes to this tax compliance fight. Mwendwa singled out SportPesa’s contribution of €39 million that supported different football entities. The president said he feared that this fight with the government would leave teams without this kind of financial support. SportPesa’s announcement ultimately led to the league without this contribution.