Responsible Gambling Awareness in Kenya

Executive Summary

Kenya is experiencing an unprecedented level of gambling participation, with over 57% of adults and up to 80% of youth engaged in betting, predominantly through mobile platforms. This has precipitated a public health crisis marked by significant financial, academic, and mental health harms. In response, a comprehensive responsible gambling (RG) framework has been established, featuring new legislation, operator-provided tools, independent support services, and government health initiatives.

However, a critical disconnect exists between the availability of these resources and the public's awareness of them. Approximately 70% of young gamblers have limited knowledge of the associated risks, and awareness of specific harm-reduction tools like self-exclusion, deposit limits, and helplines is shallow. While "bet responsibly" messaging is common, it has not translated into a deep understanding of the concrete support mechanisms available.

Evidence from targeted intervention programs demonstrates that raising awareness has a substantial positive impact, leading to reduced gambling dependence, increased help-seeking, and improved self-control. Yet, these initiatives currently reach only a fraction of Kenya's millions of gamblers. The central conclusion is that systematically increasing awareness of RG resources is one of the most powerful and underutilized strategies for mitigating gambling-related harm in the nation.

Introduction and Background

In response to the growing crisis, Kenya has developed a multi-layered framework encompassing regulation, operator tools, and independent support services.

Regulatory and Government Initiatives

The Gambling Control Act 2025: This new legislation significantly strengthens consumer protections by:

• Establishing a new Gambling Regulatory Authority.
• Raising the legal gambling age from 18 to 21.
• Mandating self-exclusion mechanisms on all licensed platforms.
• Prohibiting the offering of credit or inducements to gamblers.
• Requiring responsible advertising and banning the targeting of minors.

Advertising Guidelines (2025): The Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB) has issued strict advertising standards, including:

• A ban on using celebrities or glamorizing gambling.
• A mandate that at least 20% of all advertisement space be dedicated to responsible gambling messages and age restrictions.
• Mandatory inclusion of license details and contact information in all ads.

Ministry of Health Initiatives: The government has launched several public health interventions:

• Formation of a Rapid Response Team on youth gambling addiction.
• Launch of a national 24/7 helpline for gambling addiction.
• Deployment of trained counsellors to schools and colleges.
• Inclusion of gambling rehabilitation in the Social Health Authority benefit packages.

Operator-Provided Tools and Commitments

Licensed operators, particularly members of the Association of Gaming Operators – Kenya (AGOK), have implemented a range of RG tools.

• Account Controls: Features include time-out options for temporary suspension, customizable deposit and betting limits, and real-time spending alerts.
• Self-Exclusion: Gamblers can formally exclude themselves from platforms for periods ranging from six months to five years.
• Support Helplines: Operators provide 24/7 toll-free support lines. For example, Betika's helpline is 0800 724 835, and SportPesa's is 0709 079 079.
• Partnerships: Operators like Betika partner with organizations such as GamHelp Kenya for professional treatment referrals.

Independent Support Services

A growing ecosystem of non-governmental organizations provides direct support, education, and advocacy.

• GamHelp Kenya: Offers a toll-free national helpline (0800 724 835), free treatment through dedicated centers, and professional counselling.
• Responsible Gambling Kenya: Provides a national helpline, counselling, therapy, and family support services.
• Gaming Awareness Society of Kenya (Gamawareness254):
  • Conducts community-based education in low-income areas and university workshops.
  • Trains peer counsellors and installs gambling-blocking software (Gamban).
  • In 2024, the organization reached over 10,000 beneficiaries, with post-workshop surveys showing a 95% increase in awareness of gambling harms among participants.

Data and Analysis

Despite the robust framework, its effectiveness is severely undermined by low public awareness of the specific risks of gambling and the tools available for mitigation.

Pervasive Lack of Risk Awareness

• Youth Deficit: Approximately 70% of youth gamblers have limited awareness of the psychological, financial, and social risks associated with their activities.
• Shallow Understanding: Awareness is often superficial. While many students know gambling "can be risky," they do not take the risks seriously or understand addiction pathways. The normalization of gambling as part of youth culture overshadows harm-reduction messages.

Low Utilization of Available Tools

There is a significant disparity between the policy-level prominence of RG tools and their actual adoption by users.

• Informal vs. Formal Methods: Qualitative research indicates many gamblers rely on informal strategies like deleting apps or giving their phones to friends rather than using formal tools like self-exclusion or deposit limits.
• Under-Utilized Helplines: Despite the existence of multiple helplines, help-seeking is discouraged by social stigma and a tendency to view gambling problems as a private matter.
• Niche Technology: The adoption of technical controls like gambling-blocking software remains minimal, largely confined to individuals who have directly engaged with NGO programs.

Evidence of Impact from Targeted Interventions

Where direct education occurs, the results are dramatic, proving that awareness drives behavior change. However, the scale of these interventions is a major limitation.

• Proven Effectiveness: Gamawareness254's workshops resulted in a 95% increase in harm awareness, and 90% of attendees in some communities committed to preventive measures.
• The Scale Problem: The 10,000 beneficiaries reached by such NGOs in 2024 represent a tiny fraction of the several million active gamblers in Kenya.

Evidence Summary Table

Key Findings

Evidence demonstrates that improving awareness can generate profound positive changes at the individual, community, and systemic levels.

• Individual Behaviour Change: Awareness empowers individuals to engage in earlier self-regulation by setting limits, recognizing warning signs, and utilizing tools like self-exclusion before significant harm occurs. It also reduces stigma, making individuals more likely to seek help for mental health issues related to gambling.
• Family and Community Resilience: Community-wide awareness helps families recognize problem gambling signs and know where to seek help, shifting narratives from blame to supportive intervention. It also fosters protective peer norms that challenge the glamorization of gambling.
• System-Level Benefits: Awareness is essential for making regulatory tools effective; self-exclusion registers and helplines only work if people know they exist and trust them. Widespread awareness can reduce public health costs by preventing severe addiction cases and strengthens the regulated market by steering consumers toward licensed, compliant operators.

Barriers to Effective Awareness

Several significant obstacles hinder the widespread dissemination and adoption of responsible gambling messages and tools.

• Stigma and Privacy: Shame about gambling losses and debt suppresses help-seeking, and many view gambling as a deeply personal affair, resisting disclosure.
• Normalization and Glamorization: Aggressive marketing and sports sponsorships portray gambling as a normal part of youth culture and a viable path to wealth, creating powerful narratives that RG campaigns must counteract.
• Limited Reach and Equity: Current NGO and university initiatives are geographically concentrated and reach only a small percentage of the gambling population, leaving rural and low-income groups underserved.
• Unlicensed Channels: A significant portion of the market operates outside the regulatory framework, offering no RG tools or information and creating pockets of high risk.
• Data Gaps: The lack of a national problem gambling prevalence survey and standardized metrics on tool usage makes it difficult to precisely target interventions and measure their impact.

Recommendations

1. Enhance Visibility and Accessibility: Mandate that operators display helpline numbers and RG tools prominently in apps and on websites in plain language (including Kiswahili). A nationally recognized RG symbol should be adopted for instant recognition.
2. Integrate Awareness into Education Systems: Introduce mandatory financial literacy and life-skills units in universities, colleges, and secondary schools that explicitly cover gambling risks. Provide systematic training for school counsellors.
3. Target High-Risk Populations: Design tailored interventions for groups like university students, unemployed urban youth, and residents of high-prevalence counties (Nakuru, Busia, Siaya), using trusted messengers like local leaders and former gamblers.
4. Normalize Help-Seeking Behaviour: Reframe the use of RG tools as a sign of strength and responsibility, not weakness. Promote recovery stories from Kenyan contexts to reduce stigma.
5. Expand Programmatic Reach: Increase funding and support for successful NGO initiatives to scale their operations nationally, establishing regional hubs in high-prevalence areas.
6. Strengthen Data and Coordination: Conduct a national problem gambling prevalence survey and systematically track the uptake of RG tools. Use the new Gambling Regulatory Authority to coordinate data sharing and multi-stakeholder campaign planning.

References

GeoPoll. "Gambling in Kenya: Mobile Phones and Football."  

Deutsche Welle. "What's Behind Kenya's Gambling Epidemic?"  

Gaming Awareness Society of Kenya. "GASK Annual Report 2024."  

Journal of Business and Innovation Research. "Gambling Consequences Among University Students in Kericho County."

Africa Multidisciplinary Journal of Research. Available at:  

MIT Technology Review. "Kenya Sports Betting Mobile Money."  

Central Bank of Kenya. "2021 FinAccess Survey Report."  

KBC. "Kenya Intensifies Efforts to Tackle Youth Gambling Addiction."  

ISSUP Kenya. "Understanding Gambling Addiction and Its Links to Substance Use Disorders."  

iGaming Today. "Kenya's Government Forms Rapid Response Team to Tackle Betting Addiction Among Youth."  

CM Advocates. "Regulatory Alert: Enactment of the Gambling Control Act 2025."  

ALN Africa. "Recent Developments Shaping Kenya's Betting and Gaming Sector."  

Capital FM. "BCLB Unveils Strict Gambling Advertisement Guidelines to Promote Responsible Betting."  

Kenya Film Classification Board. "BCLB Press Release - 30th May 2025."  

Capital FM. "Gaming Operators to Roll Out New Tools for Responsible Betting in Kenya."