Sports Betting; The Leading Employer of Ugandan Youth

For a starting price of Shs 500, and prospects of having it multiplied over a number of times within 90 minutes, betting has become the highest money earning venture for the bigest potion of unemloyed youth in Uganda. The over 10 sports betting companies in Uganda are expanding rapidly to meet the ever growing clientele in networked sports betting and virtual games. From early morning, to late evening, the youth swam the betting halls, watch the screens, surf the internet, and buy the playing ticket to take his bet. They will return the folowing morning to check on whether it was that lucky day, or another gamble gone bad. A gamble gone bad wont deter, and a lucky win gives inspiration to take a bigger bet next time. Once in a while, someone earns a huge amount. This once in a period moment entices more keep betting, the way an employee of the month award motivates in the corporate sector. According to statistics from the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (Ubos) of the more than 400,000 young Ugandans who enter the labour market each year, only about 113,000 are absorbed in formal employment, leaving the rest to forage for jobs in the informal sector. While the national unemployment rate stands at 3.5 per cent, that of the youth is a whopping 32.2 per cent. Available data shows that youth unemployment is worse in urban areas, at about 40 per cent. This explains why the betting agencies have more braches in urban areas. For instance, Sports Betting Africa, one of the operational betting agencies, has over 200 branch locations around Kampala alone. Managers at SBA, another betting agency, once revealed to the media that over 100,000 individuals flock its head office halls on weekends with an average 60,000 individuals during the week days. Uganda became the Second African Nation to Legalise Sports Betting, after South Africa.