Disturbed by the spiking rate of underage betting in Nigeria, Gamble Alert has partnered with the national trade association that represents sports betting, lottery and gaming operators in Nigeria, the Association of Nigerian Bookmakers (ANB), to work towards curbing the menace.
The move, convener of the nonprofit, Fisayo Oke, said, is driven by Gamble Alert’s desire to fulfil its mandates of curbing underage gambling, discouraging impulsive betting and providing clinical assistance to problem gamblers.
Mr Oke who led his team to ANB’s office, recently, where an agreement was reached, told Nigerian Tribune that the partnership would focus on putting out transformative information on how youths could overcome addictive betting. Also, the partnership will enable the two organisations to work out modalities, collaborate and network with psychologists “who are able to help problem gamblers.
“We’ve seen the mess that has been created in the betting industry and society generally, and we noticed that because there’s a financial gain attached to staking, a number of people are addicted to it. They’re unable to stop,” Oke said.
Beyond the financial incentives that come with betting, another reason for the addiction is the ease of access. This ease of access is the reason why underage betting is increasing across the country.
This gap, Oke said, is one area the campaign will focus on.
The organisation has a futuristic vision and is not limited to immediate gains and results but has its eyes on scalable, long term results that would “clean up the mess,” thus the design to have the campaign run for many years.
“Beginning from this month, we will take our campaign to secondary schools in Oyo State to educate students on the dangers of underage gambling. We will also embark on roadshows in collaboration with state and national regulators to enlighten the public on the need for responsible gambling,” Oke enthused.
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