Sports Betting: Youth Increasingly Being Drowned In Gambling

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Sports Betting: Youth Increasingly Being Drowned In Gambling

The quest to become rich fast, poverty, unemployment and laxity in control mechanism are some of the

26 oct. 2023 09:47

I t was about 4pm Saturday October 14 and a noisy crowd of mainly youth is gathered in front of a building in the Biyem Assi neighbourhood in Yaounde VI subdivision, hosting one of the sport betting company’s branch office. They argued frivolously on their stakes on some football matches during the FIFA Period (friendly games). Some were already in jubilation for the previous games and the outcome that worked on their favour and yet others were languishing haven lost some money as their stakes didn’t favour them. The scenario is same in most part of the capital city and in other major towns of Cameroon where the sport betting companies have opened their branches. Desmond and Jean Claude in their early twenties had both staked FCFA 1500 and FCFA 2000 respectively but both lost. “It is a game. Sometimes you lose and sometimes you win. A friend of mine won FCFA 300,000 last week” Desmond T. told Cameroon Business Today. Speaking to some of the bettors, the reasons for engaging in gambling are diverse. The gamblers especially youth are not only attracted by the quest to become “millionaires” as fast as possible without much stress but also some need to survive on a daily basis. The fact that the fee to stake for games is low (from FCFA 300) most Cameroonians can easily afford that and “invest” in one game hoping to reap bountifully. “The principle of the game is simple. We play from 300 FCFA. You can choose up to 15 matches. There are people who often bet FCFA 15,000, FCFA 20,000, and so on,” a manager of a betting kiosk at the Obili neighbourhood revealed.

Many Cameroonians are addicted to gambling. They hope to make millions and get out of their poverty. This explains why even civil servants, uniform officers and others are seen queuing in front of betting kiosks to buy tickets. One of them, a driver in the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife who didn’t want to be named, admitted that he is a regular client. He revealed that sometimes when he has money, he puts in FCFA 100,000 on a single day. “I have had occasions where I put in FCFA 20,000 and won FCFA 300,000. I have won up FCFA 1.2 million on a single day. So it depends on your predictions and luck,” he said while brandishing already acquired tickets. Our source justified his addiction to sport betting to the fact that his pay package at the end of the month is too small and cannot make ends meet. “With the rising prices of commodities, it is difficult to cope so I bet on football games to have extra revenue that can foot our bills. I go home sometimes with about FCFA 90,000 to 120,000, which is more than my monthly salary,” ...