As the government continues with the nationwide crackdown on illegal gambling machines that have been installed in most urban centres, it has now emerged that the Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB) has been issuing licences with little or no controls.
Parents have complained that their children steal money, especially coins, for gambling which has been pegged to as cheap as Sh20 per game.
Watoto Msilie, a child rights lobby based in Kisumu has raised the red flag saying the gaming premises promote drugs use among children and the youth.
In September, the board wrote to County Commissioners asking them to mobilise chiefs and police to eradicate the gambling machines across the country.
The letter dated September 19, by BCLB chairman Anthony Kimani Kung’u, states in part: “It is worth noting that legal gambling is conducted in licensed betting and gaming premises and in a regulated manner, whereby persons under 18 years are not allowed.”
However, Watoto Msilie alleges the licensing board is involved in issuance of illegal permits to some of the companies that have imported the machines in the past two years.
For instance, the BCLB gave a permit to operate a limited payout gaming machines in Agip House located on Haile Selassie Avenue from July 1, 2015 to June, 30 2016.
While this may have been in order based on the inspection the board may have carried out on the company and location, in January, 2016, the board again gave the same company a letter to authorise operating gaming machines in 10 unnamed counties.
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