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As a consultant psychiatrist with over 25 years of medical practice, I have watched the silent toll of the betting craze grow from a whisper in our communities to a deafening crisis in our consulting rooms.
In the streets of Nairobi, from the high-rises of Upper Hill to the stalls of Eastleigh, a new craze has taken over one that isn't preached from pulpits, but from glowing smartphone screens and flashy billboards.
It is the religion of the “Sure Bet,” but the only thing truly sure about this trend is the looming collapse of our national social fabric and the mental health time bomb it represents.
Recent data from the 2025/26 financial year paints a chilling picture of this reality. While the government celebrates a projected doubling of betting tax revenue—aiming for a staggering 11.4 billion KES this year, the human cost remains invisible on the national balance sheet.
We are effectively taxing the desperation of our youth to fill the national coffers, ignoring the fact that Kenya now leads Sub-Saharan Africa in the number of young bettors.
A 2025 report reveals that urban dwellers spend an average of Sh2,125 monthly on gambling, money that is desperately needed for rent, school fees, and basic nutrition.
In my daily practice, I see that this is no longer just "recreational fun" for many; it is a clinical addiction.
Recent studies indicate that nearly 80 per cent of respondents in gambling research are now classified as "problem" or "pathological" gamblers.
These are not just numbers; they represent broken families and shattered futures.
Between 2019 and 2021, we saw a rise in gambling-related suicides, predominantly among young men who had lost everything from tuition fees to life savings on a single 90 minute football match.
As a psychiatrist, I must emphasize that "Gambling Disorder" is a serious mental health condition that rarely travels alone. It is almost always accompanied by insomnia, deep depression, and even drug-induced psychosis.
While the industry argues it provides "entertainment," there is nothing entertaining about a university student taking their own life because a "multi-bet" failed in the final minute of play.
We cannot call it economic growth when a father gambles away his children’s future at a local kiosk.
The government has taken initial steps, such as stricter advertising rules that led to an 89 per cent drop in betting adverts spend in early 2026, but we must go further. We need to enforce a minimum gambling age of 21 with zero tolerance and set minimum bet limits of at least Sh50 to discourage the "micro-betting" that drains the pockets of our most vulnerable citizens.
Most importantly, a significant portion of that Sh11.4 billion tax revenue must be mandatorily diverted to funding mental health treatment for the very addiction this industry fosters.
We can no longer afford to ignore the devastating impact of gambling for the sake of revenue. It has moved from the kiosks to our very bedrooms. If we do not act decisively now, we aren't just losing money we are losing a generation to a jackpot that is a lie, while the addiction is tragically real.
- The writer is a consultant psychistrist, a past Head of Mental Health Promotion at the Ministry of Health and the past Chair of the Africans Division of the Royal College of Psychiatrists
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