University 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐟𝐟 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐡𝟔𝟎 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐧 betting & 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠

𝐀 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐉𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐠𝐢 𝐎𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐚 𝐎𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐚 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐟𝐟 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐡𝟔𝟎 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐧 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬.

The research, titled “Gambling Effects Among Vulnerable Groups in Public Universities,” found that over 70% of students and staff are engaged in gambling activities, with 27.5 per cent of students sampled categorised as high-risk habitual gamblers and 41.6 per cent of students and 4.8 per cent of staff categorised as moderate-risk gamblers by the Canadian Problem Gambling Severity Index tool.

The study, sponsored by the Bristol University Hub for gambling harms research, sampled 385 students and 21 staff members through Snowball and Purposive sampling.

The University Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Emily Akuno, described the findings as accurate but intolerable, but said the University Council should consider changing its fee payment policy to deter gambling.

According to the survey, on average, students and staff win bets amounting to Sh3.5 million each week but also lose bets amounting to Sh3.7 million each week, revealing an average loss of Sh200,000 over the same period.

“From the report, it is clear that the students gamble using HELB loans or pocket money given by parents; some even sell their belongings to gamble while our staff take loans to engage in the vice,” Prof. Akuno remarked.

The survey found that male students engaged in betting more than their female counterparts, and male staff were more prone to gambling than female staff.

The research findings suggest that stronger policies are required to regulate the gambling industry, which currently has over 120 companies operating in Kenya.