VOA新闻杂志2022--Concerns Grow over Sports Betting in Africa

Concerns Grow over Sports Betting in Africa

In at least five African countries, many people consider sports gambling¹ as a way to get regular income.

Some consider sports gambling a way out of poverty. But critics warn that sports betting in Africa is increasing while poverty, unemployment and a lack of industry rules remain big problems.

In one example, a Ugandan health official was so sure Argentina would win its World Cup soccer game against Saudi Arabia that he bet $1,800. The money was loaned to him by officials from an amount meant to go to 243 people who had taken part in a polio vaccine² campaign.

Argentina lost the game, and the official lost the money. Later he was chased by an angry crowd and locked himself indoors for days. His supervisor³ said he could lose his job.

In Uganda, the official's loss was a lot of money. Yearly income per person in the country was $840 in 2020.

Sports gamblers include students, politicians, workers or government officials.

Information on sports betting from all of Africa is not available. But data from a few countries show its growing popularity. Online gambling has grown in recent years. The increase has been driven by a growing use of mobile payments and demand for online entertainment. Much of the betting is on soccer games in Europe.

A South African government study from 2017 was among the most recent on gambling. It found that sports betting grew 14 percent a year between 2008 and 2016. But the number of South Africans who gambled fell from 57 percent to less than one third of the country's adult population.

Today, online sports betting makes up 45 percent of the South African gambling market. Just 10 years ago casinos held an 80 percent share of the market, said the National Gambling Board.

In Zimbabwe, most people do not make more than $100 a month. Sports betting there "has become a major income earner even for those who are in formal employment," said Japhet Moyo. He is secretary-general of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions. "The problem is that it becomes addictive⁴ and some lose their salaries to betting."

A salary is money earned from work.

African gamblers often expect to pay for daily needs with gambling winnings. Philo Ragada is an unemployed⁵ schoolteacher in Harare, Zimbabwe's capital. He bet on England to beat Senegal in a World Cup game. Ragada supported the African team but said he wanted England to win because "that's where my money is." His winnings, he said, would be "enough for tomorrow's bread and tomatoes."

Wale Babalola is a college graduate in the Nigerian city of Lagos who owns eight betting shops after once struggling to find a job. "If not for betting, I wonder how some people will survive in this country."

Concern about the industry is also growing. Reagan Wamajji is a researcher with the Uganda-based Center for Policy Analysis. He said there should be campaigns against gambling, especially sports betting. "However, it is such a lucrative⁶ business that meaningful reforms might be hard to push," he said.

A Ugandan parliamentary group earlier this year suggested banning daytime betting.

Neighboring Kenya has reported a decrease in gambling since 2019. That was when the country began taxing all bets. The government also withdrew the licenses⁸ of several major gambling companies.

A Kenyan government study said that gamblers who considered gambling a good way to make money fell by half to 11 percent between 2019 and 2021.

For regular gamblers, especially those who bet money that is not theirs, the recent World Cup has been punishing.

Gideon Matua is a security guard in Uganda. He said two friends recently lost their jobs after losing other people's money.

"I've seen very many people here crying," he said. "Someone comes here and puts a big amount on one team. If the team loses, they just go home. Some of them have been chased away from their jobs."

Words in This Story

gambling — n. playing a game of chance in which money is put at risk in an effort to win other people's money

income — n. money earned from work, investment or business

betting — n. playing a game by risking losing money in exchange for the chance of winning someone else's money

mobile — adj. related to the use of mobile or cell phones to do activities such as communicate or make payments

entertainment — n. pastimes meant to give pleasure and that are not work

casino –n. a business or a building in which people play games of chance

addictive — adj. causing a strong, harmful need to regularly do or have something

license⁷ — n. official permission to carry out a business or do an activity

lucrative — n. profitable, producing big financial returns

1 gambling   

n.赌博；投机

参考例句：

• They have won a lot of money through gambling.他们赌博赢了很多钱。
• The men have been gambling away all night.那些人赌了整整一夜。

2 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

3 supervisor   

n.监督人，管理人，检查员，督学，主管，导师

参考例句：

• Between you and me I think that new supervisor is a twit.我们私下说，我认为新来的主管人是一个傻瓜。
• He said I was too flighty to be a good supervisor.他说我太轻浮不能成为一名好的管理员。

4 addictive   

adj.(吸毒等)使成瘾的，成为习惯的

参考例句：

• The problem with video game is that they're addictive.电子游戏机的问题在于它们会使人上瘾。
• Cigarettes are highly addictive.香烟很容易使人上瘾。

5 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

6 lucrative   

adj.赚钱的，可获利的

参考例句：

• He decided to turn his hobby into a lucrative sideline.他决定把自己的爱好变成赚钱的副业。
• It was not a lucrative profession.那是一个没有多少油水的职业。

7 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

8 licenses   

n.执照( license的名词复数 )v.批准，许可，颁发执照( license的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Drivers have ten days' grace to renew their licenses. 驾驶员更换执照有10天的宽限期。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Jewish firms couldn't get import or export licenses or raw materials. 犹太人的企业得不到进出口许可证或原料。 来自辞典例句