Accountability, Responsibility Top Agenda in National Lottery Public Forum

Uasin Gishu, Friday April 14, 2023

K.N.A By Ekuwam Sylvester

The Rift Valley team of The Presidential Taskforce on the establishment of the controlled and responsible lottery was conducted on Thursday in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu county.

The forum brought together members of the public drawn from the six North Rift region counties of Nandi, Uasin Gishu, Elgeyo Marakwet, Turkana, Baringo and west Pokot. 

The taskforce team chaired by Judy Kiragu was collecting public views on the three documents, which include the draft National Lottery Bill (2023), Gambling Control Bill (2023) and Gambling Policy to bring sanity in the sub sector.

In an interview with the press, Kiragu pointed out that there was a need to have much stronger regulations in the gambling sector to protect the players whose majority are the youth and vulnerable in the society.

She noted that the establishment of the state lottery which will be fully owned by the government will help raise funds which will be used to support communities in terms of development.

“It is important also to realize that we have got to harness and raise funds through the national lottery, which we are going to establish and disseminate funds for development,” she said.

She indicated that the government through the national lottery is set to fill gaps not covered by the public lotteries owned by private companies including putting in place legislation on protection and rehabilitation for people who have exceeded the use of gambling.

The members of the public who included members of the civil society organizations, religious leaders, opinion leaders and others raised various concerns over the establishment of the national lottery.

Maxwell Ong’ura, a member of the Uasin Gishu betting Association lauded the government for coming up with the policy framework to regulate betting.

He noted that there was a need for the government to conduct an induction to train the operators and users of the gambling machines and also defining standards for equipment used to evade issues of conflict between players and owners in the event of faultiness of the equipment.

On his part, Nandi County Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) Chairperson Shadrack Tarno commended the establishment of the national lottery which he said is the right move to generate money for the government.

“There should be a mechanism to control casinos, and ensure high standards are practiced, this will help prevent money laundering and corruption in the sub sector,” said Tarno. 

Nandi Maendeleo Ya Wanawake Chairperson Sarah Kosgei called for empowerment of women at the grassroots level to take part in gambling to help them raise money to boost their businesses.

“This will help us raise a living to provide for our families because we are always responsible as compared to our husbands. Women should also be sensitized to uphold high sense of responsibility not to involve themselves so much in gambling neglecting their domestic roles,” said Kosgei.

In his view, Bishop Simon Ng’etich who represented members of the clergy in the forum, urged the government to restrict lottery operators from setting their businesses near social institutions like schools, churches and others in order not distract activities in the institutions.

The chairperson of the gambling policy document Dr. Erick Aligula noted that the country has not had a gambling sector policy since independence and this will be the first in terms of providing coherent framework through which the gambling sector can be leveraged to become a force for social progress.

He indicated that the government seeks to strongly incorporate responsible gambling principles within the gambling sub sector in the country which will include strengthening customer verification procedures, strengthening gambler exclusion provisions, establishing national gambling helpline and determining and defining what are the good aspects that can be funded through the national lottery.

To ensure accountability and responsibility, Dr. Aligula reiterated that the law is keen in promoting accountability by establishing limits on how much one stakes for gambling, who should participate and also to ensure people are not overspending time and resources in gambling.

Courtesy K.N.A