Members of Parliament are now proposing an increase in the gambling age and the minimum amounts to place bets in a bid to put an end to irresponsible betting in the country, especially among the youth.
The proposal surfaced when the members of the National Assembly were deliberating the Gambling Control Bill (National Assembly Bill No. 70 of 2023), which aims to engineer a regulatory framework for betting, casinos, and other forms of gambling.
Speaking during a parliamentary proceeding on Wednesday, Dagoretti North Beatrice Elachi claimed that the government should increase the age limit of gambling to 21 years and the minimum amount of placing bets to Ksh50 on all betting sites, requirements that she claims will shield youths from irresponsible gambling.
If the bill sails through, according to the MPs, the government will introduce tough sanctions and penalties for any gambling operator who is caught allowing people under the proposed age to gamble.
"We discourage young people from engaging in it, because getting Sh50 is a bit hard. It is like these people are so powerful that they can convince the government to pass a Bill that can be shaped into what they want. What we are doing to our young people is wrong," Elachi said.
"We discourage young people from engaging in it, because getting Sh50 is a bit hard. It is like these people are so powerful that they can convince the government to pass a Bill that can be shaped into what they want. What we are doing to our young people is wrong," she added.
Supporting the proposal, the Kikuyu Member of Parliament Kimani Ichung'wah asserted that the bill will also regulate media outlets, especially radio and TV, which he claimed have developed a tendency to advertise gambling even after watershed hours.
“We must have laws like this that discourage irresponsible gambling. It is okay to gamble and bet for the first time, but it cannot be every day of your life. It cannot be usual that so many radio and TV stations were free to encourage the public to bet from as early as 5am,” Ichung'wah said.
The proposal comes two weeks after the Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB) proposed tougher new measures for gamblers to curb the casual entries of individuals and entities into the gambling ecosystem.
According to the BCLB, Director Peter Mbugi, in a statement on Wednesday, July 16, gamblers will be required to submit a selfie holding their national IDs for registration in gambling sites.
Mbugi proposed the introduction of a Ksh50 million entry barrier for small-scale betting shops and Ksh5 billion for public gaming operators like casinos.
“For a small-scale betting shop, the BCLB is proposing a minimum capital investment of Ksh50 million. For public gaming operators like casinos, the draft proposed Bill aims to raise the requirement to Ksh5 billion,” Mbugi said.
