Some university students in Uganda use betting on English soccer to help pay their tuition. Other do it for entertainment.
One student, interviewed by Quartz Africa said “This is my work. I wake up early and I just come to betting, it is enjoyable. The betting helps me pay my tuition fees and next month I will go back to school.”
Sports Betting Africa has been operating in Uganda since 2007, and betting on sports, especially soccer, was popular before that. Estimates are that more than 200 betting vendors accounted for $42 million in wagers per year.
However, the rise of illegal operators and the increase of unemployment among the skyrocketing youth population has prompted the government to introduce the first of its kind responsible gambling campaign.
The nation has a population of 37.6 million, of which 78 percent are below the age of 30. About a quarter of them are unemployed—and attracted to gambling. What makes it almost irresistible is that there are few places where young people congregate that don’t have gambling outlets.
In cities such as the capital of Kampala, it’s standing room only in such outlets, with TVs tuned to soccer games that are often 6,000 miles away, in London, which features the English Premier League, but also watch games in Belgium, Brazil and Argentina. As one native observed, the entire population is born knowing soccer.
The rise of the English Premier League and the availability of subscription TV has fueled this boom in watching and betting across the African continent. But the Ugandan government is particularly concerned. In one of its largest cities, Gulu, officials seek a betting ban to combat crime and arrant youth. It’s not the only town looking to prohibit the practice, which has led to violence and a recent murder over a bet worth less than a dollar.
The Ugandan government is not interested in banning gambling outright since it makes $5 million a year in taxes from it. But it has adopted new regulations, including a campaign to educate communities about the dangers of underage gambling— and it can to a degree control the activity through who it grants licenses to.
