political choice that results from balancing
politically different questions of morality,
priorities in public health versus economy
and commercial interests.” The question
therefore begs; to allow or disallow?...
Here-under are my thoughts.
Permit but Discourage
For the Kenyan case, my stand would be
to advocate for strict legal regulations and
controls rather than a total ban because
let’s face it, the forbidden fruit always
tastes sweeter. A total ban would make
more and more Kenyans seek out the
forbidden fruit through all other means
and ways and devour it with vengeance.
Through a concerted push by a coalition
of civil society players, amplifying our
voices under the banner of “Permit but
Discourage” seems a more practical
solution to me.
Under it and through the arena of a
people centered advocacy campaign, the
body can among other things: seek legal,
moral or ethical interventions and push
the government to: restrict availability,
suppress advertisements and impose tight
controls on the operators.
Minors safely tucked under
the Law
Separately, the need to prevent children
from gambling participation also has to
be explicitly knit into the Gambling Act.
The act should be amended to clearly
underpin the need for the gambling
industry to develop, adopt and monitor
age-verification measures in order to
prevent inappropriate access by minors.
For this purpose, the coalition can push
the government to create a gambling
commission that will be given prominent
power to deal with companies that tolerate
or are found not to have put sufficient
mechanisms to avert such incidents of
minor participation.
I’m talking extremely high and punitive
measures to all companies found to be
in contravention. My thinking here is
simple; companies are in for a profit, so if
you seriously touch on their earnings, you
will push them to reflect and reconsider.
Let’s Call 911
For a good part however, we need to see
this phenomena of problem gambling as
For the Kenyan case, my stand would be
to advocate for strict legal regulations and
controls rather than a total ban because
let’s face it, the forbidden fruit always
tastes sweeter. A total ban would make
more and more Kenyans seek out the for-
bidden fruit through all other means and
ways and devour it with vengeance.
a condition that in more than one way
requires sort of a medical model to fix
it. Castellani, in his book Pathological
Gambling: The Making of a Medical
Problem proposes that; just as there
exists rehab centers for all other forms of
addiction, the same should be in place for
gambling to help in both the recovery and
cessation of gambling.
So, can our Health Cabinet Secretary
Madam Sicily Kariuki pick up on this?
Possibly get the existing addiction
and mental public health facilities to
expand their services to include problem
gambling? Also, any takers to take our
youth through psychological sessions of
self-control?
We’re in this Together
The SportPesas’ and Betins’ equally have a
huge role to play in promoting responsible
gaming. Castellani for instance proposes
that 1% of the gaming company’s
profits should go into financial support
of research, educational programs and
treatment of all recovering addicts. This
should be copy pasted here in Kenya with
zero amendment and/or without any
further debate.
Through policy; the betting companies
should also be compelled to truly anchor
their operations on the spirit of shared
value. For instance, get involved in more
impactful long serving ventures such as
setting up of well-equipped talent centers
that truly nurture young talent. On this
one however, allow me to pique your mind;
scholars often pose “Can an industry be
socially responsible if its products harm
consumers?”
My Take
It is generally agreed that in conflict, just
as it is true for many other world problems;
communication is a key ingredient in
sorting out a lot of issues.
The Advocacy Expert Series defines
Advocacy as “a strategic series of actions
designed to influence those who hold
governmental, political, economic or
private power to implement public policies
and practices that benefit those with
less political power and fewer economic
resources (the affected group).”
If we (a large coalition of willing partners)
come together, plan around a strategic
series of actions that are well targeted, we
will be able to persuade both the public to
rally behind us and most importantly get
the government to act on our amplified
voices calling for stricter regulation. We
will be able to show the entire country
that indeed; what we want is good for
everybody and get them to see that it is
the exact same thing that they should
want. We would have engaged in positive
communication and through it, impacted
on behavior change.
So, as we part ways "Never doubt that a
small group of thoughtful, committed
citizens can change the world; indeed, it's
the only thing that ever has." Margaret
Mead.
Makes sense?
Chabala H. Walter is a perceptive,
amiable, and conscious Sales,
Marketing and Communications
Professional. You can commune
with him on this or related matters
via email at: Chabalawalter@
gmail.com.